Cecilia Hernandez has filed a class action lawsuit against her former employer, alleging multiple violations of California labor laws. The complaint was filed on April 15, 2025, in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, against GDM Electronic & Medical, LLC. Hernandez claims that the company systematically denied employees their rightful meal and rest breaks and failed to compensate them for overtime work.
According to the lawsuit, Cecilia Hernandez and other employees were routinely unable to take their legally mandated 10-minute rest periods and uninterrupted 30-minute meal breaks. The complaint alleges that this was due to the company's demands that forced employees to continue working through these breaks. Furthermore, GDM Electronic & Medical allegedly failed to pay premium wages for missed breaks as required by Labor Code §§ 226.7, 512, and 558. "Plaintiff and Defendant’s California employees were forced to continue working through their meal and rest breaks in order to assist Defendant’s needs," states the complaint.
The lawsuit also accuses GDM Electronic & Medical of failing to pay all wages owed for overtime work. Employees reportedly worked more than eight hours a day or forty hours a week without receiving appropriate overtime compensation at one-and-a-half times their regular rate of pay. Additionally, the company is alleged to have issued inaccurate wage statements that did not reflect all gross wages earned or total hours worked, violating Labor Code § 226(a).
Hernandez's complaint further alleges that GDM Electronic & Medical delayed final wage payments beyond the time frames specified by Labor Code §§ 201-203 upon termination of employment. This delay reportedly resulted in waiting time penalties under Section 203. Moreover, the company is accused of failing to reimburse employees for necessary business expenses such as tools and uniforms as required by Labor Code § 2802.
In her legal filing, Hernandez seeks various forms of relief from the court including compensatory damages for lost wages and benefits, penalties for each violation of labor laws cited in the complaint, reimbursement for business expenses incurred by employees without compensation, and attorney's fees. She also demands injunctive relief under Business & Professions Code § 17200 et seq., aiming to prevent further unlawful practices by GDM Electronic & Medical.
Representing Cecilia Hernandez are attorneys Roman Otkupman and Nidah Farishta from Otkupman Law Firm based in Westlake Village, California. The case is being reviewed under Case No. 25CV463559 with Judge M. Arechiga presiding over proceedings.