In a striking legal development, three former employees have filed a lawsuit against their previous employer, alleging a multitude of labor law violations and discrimination. The complaint was lodged by Preston Goodley, Jacob Fay Shimada Moy, and Leighton J’mar Nicholas in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco on April 1, 2025. The defendants named in the case are Ecko Transportation Inc., Harry Dhillon, and several unnamed parties.
The plaintiffs claim that Ecko Transportation Inc., under the ownership of Harry Dhillon, systematically violated numerous provisions of the California Labor Code. Among the allegations are failure to pay wages timely upon termination as required by Labor Code §§ 201 & 203, misclassification of employees to avoid paying overtime (Labor Code §§ 510 & 1194), and withholding tips intended for drivers (Labor Code § 351). Furthermore, they assert that they were denied meal breaks (Labor Code §§ 226.7(A) & 512) and not reimbursed for necessary work expenses incurred during their employment.
According to the plaintiffs' account, they were hired as drivers or chauffeur drivers between April and October 2023. They worked out of locations in San Jose and Santa Clara but often operated within San Francisco County. The lawsuit details how the plaintiffs received job instructions via an app on their personal phones, stored company vehicles at home overnight, and were responsible for vehicle maintenance without compensation for these tasks or related expenses.
A particularly egregious accusation involves the retention of customer tips paid via credit card by Ecko Transportation Inc., which allegedly withheld these tips from the plaintiffs despite knowing they rightfully belonged to them. The complaint states that this practice was conducted with "conscious disregard" for the plaintiffs' rights.
Additionally, Goodley claims he faced disability discrimination after notifying his employer about his diabetes-related health issues. He alleges that requests for reasonable accommodations were ignored and instead led to his wrongful termination. This is claimed to be in violation of both FEHA regulations concerning disability discrimination and retaliation statutes.
The plaintiffs seek various forms of relief from the court including unpaid wages with interest, statutory penalties for wage statement violations (Labor Code § 226), damages for emotional distress due to wrongful termination and discrimination under FEHA guidelines, punitive damages due to alleged malicious conduct by Ecko Transportation Inc., as well as attorney fees.
Representing the plaintiffs are attorneys Brennan S. Kahn and Efaon Cobb from Employee Justice Legal Group P.C., while no defense attorneys have been specified yet in public records. The case has been assigned Case ID CGC-25-623898 with proceedings overseen by judges from the Superior Court of California in San Francisco County.