Class Action Claims Brookdale Senior Living Communities Workers Denied Proper Pay, Uninterrupted Breaks

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

Brookdale Senior Living Communities, Inc. faces a proposed action in which two former employees claim they and similarly situated workers were denied proper wages and meal and rest breaks.

According to the plaintiffs, who worked for the senior living community operator in California as a caregiver and a program assistant/caregiver until December 2017, Brookdale is understaffed and “cannot possibly provide its employees including Plaintiffs with their statutory breaks.” Due to the understaffing, the defendant has organized schedules “that made it difficult or impossible” for workers to take uninterrupted 30-minute meal breaks for every five hours worked and 10-minute rest breaks for every four hours worked, the suit says.

Although workers were often interrupted from or unable to take statutory breaks, Brookdale has allegedly failed to pay them for an extra hour at their regular rate for each day in which they were denied a compliant break.

The case goes on to claim that because employees have routinely worked through breaks, they often put in more than eight hours of work per day and over 40 hours per week. Per the complaint, Brookdale has failed to pay workers proper overtime wages in compliance with the California Labor Code.

Moreover, the lawsuit claims Brookdale has failed to provide employees with accurate wage statements and include in their final paychecks compensation for all hours worked, meal and rest break premiums and accrued sick days.

Originally filed in Orange County Superior Court, the lawsuit was removed to California’s Central District Court on November 4, 2020.

Get class action lawsuit news sent to your inbox – sign up for ClassAction.org’s newsletter here.