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Car Sales Persons in Santa Barbara, California filed a lawsuit last month against their employer; Stowasser Buick-GMC, Inc. The employment complaint was filed with the Santa Barbara Superior Court in California. The action was filed on November 13, 2019 as a proposed class action and representative action.

The Defendant is Stowasser Buick-GMC, Inc. a car dealership in Santa Barbara that sells and services new and used cars. The plaintiffs are seven car sales persons, some of whom worked for the California dealership starting back in 2003, and some of whom are still employed by Stowasser.

The car sales persons are seeking to pursue claims on behalf of themselves, but also as class representatives on behalf of all other car sales persons who worked for Stowasser Buick-GMC during the last four years. The employment action was also brought on behalf of the State of California under the Private Attorneys’ General Action (PAGA).

At the heart of the complaint, the car sales persons allege that Stowasser Buick-GMC failed to separately compensate them for their 10-minute duty free rest breaks. Under California labor laws, the 10-minute rest breaks must be treated as paid time, and employees are entitled to compensation for those breaks. According to the Complaint, Stowasser Buick-GMC failed to pay its California employees for those breaks.

In addition, the complaint also includes claims for missed meal breaks, unpaid minimum wages, failure to reimburse the car sales persons for work-related expenses, failure to provide employees with compliant wage statements, and failure to pay terminated employees all their wages upon termination. Finally, the action includes a claim for violation of PAGA.

The lawsuit seeks monetary damages for the unpaid wages and unpaid breaks. The lawsuit also seeks monetary penalties for the various Labor Code violations, including Defendant’s failure to provide accurate and complete pay statements and pay terminated employees the wages they were owed at the time of termination. The lawsuit also seeks monetary penalties under PAGA, as well as a court order compelling Stowasser Buick-GMC to comply with California labor laws.

If you know any car sales persons who do not receive compensation for their rest breaks, please call our firm today for a free consultation with our California employment attorney.