RIVERSIDE — Workers at UPS Supply Chain Solutions filed a class action complaint alleging the company violated California labor laws governing overtime and minimum wages, while also failing to provide required meal breaks and rest periods.
The La Jolla firm of Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP filed the complaint on behalf of named plaintiff Adrian Aviles in Riverside County Superior Court. Aviles worked for the company from September 2017 through October 2019 while classified as a nonexempt employee paid on an hourly basis.
According to the complaint, UPS made workers clock out before going through the loss-prevention inspection protocol, to start meal breaks or at the end of a shift. Aviles also said “rigorous work schedules” sometimes caused him and others to work more than five hours without an off-duty meal break and alleged that UPS failed to provide a second off-duty meal period for employers on 10-hour shifts.
Aviles also alleged UPS illegally deprived workers of 10-minute breaks, failed to provide him personnel and payroll records, contracts and other employee paperwork within 30 days as required by law, and didn’t give employees accurate itemized payroll statements.
In addition to requesting a jury trial, Aviles called for creation of a class including anyone who worked in a UPS warehouse as a nonexempt employee for the four years preceding his filing. He said the amount in controversy is less than $5 million.
The complaint includes an allegation that UPS violated California Labor Code’s Private Attorney Generals Act by not responding to Aviles’ written notice of his allegations to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency within the appointed time.
“We greatly value our employees and have policies and procedures to ensure that all of our employees are paid for the work they perform,” said Matthew O’Connor, a UPS senior manager of public relations, in an emailed statement. “We are reviewing the litigation and will vigorously defend ourselves.”