The Ritz-Carlton Hotel has agreed to pay $2 million to settle an overtime class action lawsuit filed by 1,500 current and/or former employees in California who allege they were not paid overtime wages. The 1,500 plaintiffs claim they were denied meal breaks, overtime and full pay for accrued vacations and paid time off days. Plaintiffs also allege that Ritz-Carlton denied them overtime pay if they did not receive prior authorization for working overtime.
California labor law requires that overtime be paid after 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. Employees can be entitled to overtime, even if they are paid on a salary, commission, or piece rate basis. Everyone in California is entitled to overtime unless they fall under one of the exemptions, which in this case exemptions did not apply.
The settlement includes all Ritz-Carlton hotel employees who worked in San Francisco, Half Moon Bay and Lake Tahoe at any time since November 2007.
Once approved, the settlement, will resolve the lawsuit entitled Lambson v. Marriott International, Inc. et al, Case No. 11-cv-06669, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, and allegations the Ritz Carlton, a subsidiary of Marriott International, violated California state wage and hour laws.
If your employer has wrongfully denied you overtime pay, please give my office, The Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman a call at (877) 449-8898 for a free consultation.
