California Wage Class Action Ends in $1.89M Deal
Table of Contents
Case Background
A legal battle focused on widespread labor violations that affected an entire class of employees reached its conclusion in October 2025. The case, filed in the Superior Court of California, Los Angeles County, pitted former employee Yolanda Soto against her employer, MD Hydration Inc., and its principal, Brett Florie. Soto claimed the company systematically broke state labor laws, creating an environment where workers were denied basic rights and proper pay. This case, originally filed in February 2024, quickly turned into a class action lawsuit, representing dozens of employees who worked for the company over a four-year period.
Cause
Soto’s complaint alleged a pattern of practices that violated numerous sections of the California Labor Code. She argued that the company’s business model relied on failing to meet standard employment obligations.
Wage and Hour Violations
Soto claimed the company failed to pay employees for all the time they worked. This included minimum wage violations and unpaid overtime wages, where employees worked beyond the required hours without receiving the mandated higher rate of pay. She asserted the company routinely forced employees to work during mandated time off, denying them both proper meal periods and rest periods that California law required. The law entitles workers to these breaks, and Soto argued MD Hydration simply never provided them or discouraged employees from taking them.
Record Keeping and Expense Violations
The complaint also detailed failures related to record-keeping. Soto alleged that the compan
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