A former employee has filed a lawsuit against a prominent retail chain, alleging multiple violations of California labor laws. On August 26, 2024, Jeffrey Lindquist filed a complaint in the Superior Court of California for Ventura County against Tumi Stores, Inc., accusing the company of various labor code infractions.
According to the court documents, Lindquist's representative action seeks penalties under the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) on behalf of himself and other aggrieved employees. The complaint outlines several allegations against Tumi Stores, including failure to pay proper wages and overtime, inadequate meal periods, and inaccurate wage statements. Lindquist claims that Tumi Stores engaged in "time shaving," a practice where employee timecards were edited to reduce regular and overtime hours worked. This alleged manipulation allowed the company to underpay its employees systematically.
The complaint further asserts that Tumi Stores failed to provide legally required meal breaks within the first five hours of each shift. Instead, employees were often forced to take late meal breaks or work through their breaks without compensation. "Defendant has had a consistent policy of failing to provide Plaintiff and the aggrieved employees compliant meal periods within the first five hours of each shift," states the filing. Additionally, Lindquist accuses Tumi Stores of not maintaining accurate records of these meal periods as mandated by law.
Lindquist also alleges that Tumi Stores did not furnish accurate itemized wage statements showing total hours worked and applicable hourly rates. This failure is said to violate Labor Code § 226(a), which requires employers to provide detailed wage statements every pay period. Furthermore, upon termination or resignation, Tumi Stores allegedly did not pay all due wages promptly, violating Labor Code § 203.
The plaintiff seeks various forms of relief from the court. These include penalties for each violation per employee per pay period as stipulated under PAGA, prejudgment and post-judgment interest, reimbursement for legal costs, and attorneys' fees. The penalties could amount to $100 for initial violations and $200 for subsequent violations per employee per pay period.
Representing Jeffrey Lindquist are attorneys Eric B. Kingsley and Kelsey M. Szamet from Kingsley & Kingsley Employment Lawyers based in Encino, California. The case is presided over by Judge Brenda L. McCormick under Case No. 2024CUGEOG29752.