LOS ANGELES — Hertz is facing another putative class action lawsuit in California state court. The lawsuit, filed by a California Hertz Corp. employee, is a putative class action wage and overtime pay lawsuit alleging the company intentionally underpaid customer service representatives in the state in violation of California Labor Code. Based on the initial filing, it is expected as much as $4 million is owed in back wages and damages.
California Hertz Claim
The rental chain is alleged to have willfully and knowingly denied non-exempt employees proper compensation for all hours worked. Additionally, customer service representatives were allegedly denied overtime and compensation for missed meal and rest breaks, which they also claim they were denied. Juan Herrera, the employee who filed on behalf of himself and other similarly situated employees, claims the company would require employees to prepare for their shifts off the clock without pay. Hertz would also allegedly structure employee work schedules and workloads in such a way that the employees were unable to take their meal and rest breaks. Herrera also claims the company failed to include state mandated premiums for lost meal breaks, and failed to include commissions when calculating overtime pay rates.
Earlier Hertz Claims
The most recent lawsuit is yet another in a string of lawsuits brought in California against Hertz and its rental locations. In addition to the current lawsuit, Hertz is also facing a separate overtime pay class action in California court which is expected to include around 2,000 non-exempt employees. The total damages estimated in that case are expected to be around $11.5 million. And late last year, Hertz defeated another proposed wage and hours class action in California federal court. In that case, Hertz managers alleged they were misclassified as exempt from overtime. However, both the lower court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals determined the managers’ experiences were not similar enough for class action status and the case was dismissed. The dismissal does not necessarily mean the plaintiffs were prevented from continuing with the claim against the company, it simply means they were not allowed to move forward as part of a class action.
If you are a Hertz employee or an employee of another company and you believe your employer is not compensating you for all of the hours you work or for the overtime hours you have performed, you may have a wage or overtime pay claim. Time is limited for filing wage and overtime pay complaints so it is important to call today! Our top-rated team of overtime pay lawyers can be reached at (855) 754-2795. Or you may complete our Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form and our experienced legal team will evaluate your claim. If we accept your case, we will represent you under our No Fee Promise and there will be no legal fees or costs unless you receive a settlement.