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On August 27, 2018, Zakay Law Group filed a lawsuit against Spoonful Management, LLC for meal break violations.  The lawsuit is a proposed class action, alleging various violations of California labor laws.    The Plaintiff worked for Spoonful Management as a line-cook.  He is seeking to bring the class action on behalf of himself and all other similar California employees.

Spoonful Management, LLC is a restaurant management company.  Among the restaurants it manages, Spoonful Management, LLC operated the Cleo restaurant at the Hotel Redbury in Hollywood, California.  Cleo is a high-end middle-eastern restaurant headed by master chef Danny Elmaleh.  Plaintiff was a cook working at the Cleo restaurant.

In the Complaint, Plaintiff contends that on many occasions he missed his lunch break.  California labor laws require employers to provide employees with a duty-free 30-minute meal break.  When an employee misses his or her meal break, the employer must pay the employee a meal break penalty.  According to the Complaint, Plaintiff’s workload prevented him from taking a meal break on a regular basis.  When he missed his meal breaks, Plaintiff contends that the restaurant failed to pay him a meal break penalty.

Even worse, on some occasions Plaintiff traveled to perform catering work for the restaurant.  On those occasions, Defendant paid Plaintiff a flat-rate, without regard to prevailing minimum wage rates.  As a result, Plaintiff alleges, the restaurant failed to pay Plaintiff minimum wages and also failed to provide the Plaintiff with rest breaks.  According to California employment laws, employers are required to provide employees with a duty-free 10-minute rest break for every 4 hours they work.  Here, the Plaintiff alleges, the restaurant failed to offer those 10-minute rest breaks when Plaintiff was on catering duty.

The proposed class action complaint alleges 7 different causes of action, including numerous Labor Code violations as well as a claim for unfair competition.  The Complaint is seeking monetary damages for the Plaintiff and other similarly situated employees.  The Complaint also seeks an order from the Court compelling the Defendant to correct its employment practices.

For more information about the action, you may review a copy of the Complaint here.

If you or anyone you know is not being afforded meal breaks or rest breaks, please do not hesitate to contact our California employment attorney for a free consultation.