Metro Eighteen Settles $495K Wage Rounding Lawsuit
Table of Contents
Case Background
A legal dispute centered on claims of unpaid wages for retail employees concluded when Metro Eighteen, Inc., the operator of multiple clothing and accessory stores, agreed to pay a settlement amount to settle a class action lawsuit. Plaintiff David Cancino originally filed the action in the Los Angeles Superior Court, asserting that the company had systematically violated California Labor Laws by failing to pay its non-exempt, hourly employees correctly. The settlement, which the Court approved in September 2024, resolved the complex litigation, allowing the company to avoid a costly trial and providing financial relief to the hundreds of workers affected by the alleged violations.
Cause
The core cause of the lawsuit, as described in the complaint, arose from the company's time-keeping and payroll policies. The Plaintiff contended that Metro Eighteen, Inc. had improperly used a rounding policy for employee work hours. This practice, Cancino alleged, led to the systematic under-recording of time worked, resulting in workers not getting paid for all minutes they spent on the clock. This policy failure, the complaint asserted, was the direct reason for the wage violations across the company's California stores.
Injury
The injury to the workers was direct and financial. The Plaintiff and the class members claimed they had lost wages because the company's rounding practice failed to capture every minute they worked, ultimately resulting in an overall lower effective hourly pay. Beyond the unpaid wages, the employees sought compensation for the statutory penalties state law imposes on employers f
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