Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk parent company settles class-action lawsuit for $5.9 million – Santa Cruz Sentinel

SANTA CRUZ – Santa Cruz Seaside Co., which operates the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, recently settled a lawsuit in Santa Cruz County Superior Court to pay nearly $6 million to a group of current and former employees for unpaid minimum wages, periods of rest and overtime. .

The lawsuit was filed in July 2023 and includes allegations that the company failed to provide meal breaks or overtime pay and rounded hours to avoid paying employees, among the eight total complaints in the lawsuit. Although Santa Cruz Seaside Co. dismisses all of the plaintiff’s claims in the case, has agreed to pay the settlement, which will be finalized in January 2025.

A spokesman for Santa Cruz Seaside Co. told the Sentinel that the settlement was preliminarily approved by Santa Cruz County Superior Court on Sept. 17 and gave the Sentinel this statement.

“As a century-old, family-owned and operated company, the trust and well-being of our employees is vital to us, and we care deeply about ensuring that all of our employees are treated and compensated fairly,” the statement said. “While we deny the allegations in this case, we are pleased to agree to this settlement and put this matter behind us.”

The substantial $5.9 million settlement will be paid to those who work for the Santa Cruz Seaside Co. between 25 July 2019 and 11 August. After the attorneys’ fees are paid, the remaining settlement will go to the current and former employees and their nominees. plaintiff receiving approximately $7,500, acc court documents.

The documents point out that the named plaintiff, Santa Cruz County resident Travis Sanford, was employed by Santa Cruz Seaside Co. from August 2016 to December 2021 as a seasonal food service worker at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.

The class action complaint filed in July 2023 outlines the plaintiff’s eight claims and states that “defendants (Santa Cruz Seaside Co.) employed plaintiff (Sanford) and the other class members but failed to pay them in properly all additional wages and minimum wages for all hours worked, failed to provide all meal and rest breaks to which they were entitled, failed to timely pay all wages upon termination of employment, failed to provide accurate wage statements, failed to reimburse expenses business-related requirements and failed to comply with other related protections provided by the California Labor Code and the applicable Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order.”

The eight complaints are detailed in the July filing and begin with the claim that the plaintiff and others in the class action were not paid for overtime when it was required by law. The document states that plaintiff and the other class members “regularly worked over eight hours per day, over twelve hours per day, and/or over forty hours per week. However, Defendants failed to record Plaintiff’s and other Class Members’ actual hours worked and willfully and willfully failed to pay all overtime wages owed to Plaintiff and other Class Members and failed to pay one and a half times the rate normal schedule for overtime. hours.”

Notices of the settlement have been sent to employees included in the class action, and Santa Cruz County Superior Court will hold a final approval hearing next year. Settlement checks will be distributed to class action members after the January 2025 hearing.

To read the court documents, visit santacruzcourt.org.