Based on his tentative order and comments during oral arguments on Tuesday, July 26, 2016, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kenneth J. Freeman appears prepared to permit the proposed class action against Staples for end-of-shift waiting time pay to proceed. The lawsuit on behalf of all non-exempt hourly employees in the Company’s California warehouses claims that the Company systematically required employees to clock out for mandatory 10-20 minute security checks before taking breaks or leaving at the end of a shift.
Although Judge Freeman dismissed plaintiff Kenya Lawson’s rest break claims, he has thus far refused to dismiss her end-of-shift waiting claims, despite deposition testimony presented by Staples’ attorneys where Lawson stated that she was only suing for wages related to short breaks. Lawson’s attorney appears to have been persuasive in arguing that the allegations alleged in Lawson’s complaint trump any contradictory statement in her deposition.
The case is Kenya Lawson v. Staples Contract and Commericial Inc., case no. BC542237, in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles.
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