Spartan Education Settles $400K Wage Theft Class Action Suit

Case Background

Eric Harrold, an employee at Spartan Education Group's aeronautics and technology college in Riverside, California, filed a class action lawsuit against his employer on January 19, 2023. Harrold worked as a non-exempt hourly employee and started his employment on February 1, 2022. He brought this case on behalf of himself and all similarly situated current and former non-exempt employees who worked for the company in California during the class period.

Cause

The lawsuit stemmed from multiple alleged violations of California labor laws. Harrold claimed that Spartan Education Group maintained company policies and practices that systematically denied employees their rightful wages and benefits. The Plaintiff argued that these violations were not isolated incidents but reflected a broader pattern of unlawful employment practices that affected the entire workforce of non-exempt employees.

Injury

Harrold and class members suffered economic injuries through lost wages and denied compensation. Workers performed labor during meal breaks while clocked out and completed mandatory COVID-19 temperature checks and symptom questionnaires before clocking in. The company rounded employee time entries in its favor, which resulted in workers receiving less pay than what they actually earned. Employees also missed rest periods and did not receive proper premium pay for these violations. The company failed to include incentive compensation when calculating overtime rates and meal and rest break premiums. Workers also incurred unreimbursed expenses from using personal cell phones for work purposes.

Damages Sought

The Plaintiff sought recovery of all unpaid minimum and overtime wages, one hour of premium pay for each workday a meal period was not provided, one hour of premium pay for each workday a rest period was not provided, penalties for inaccurate wage statements, reimbursement for business expenses, waiting time penalties for terminated employees who did not receive their final wages on time, and recovery of underpaid sick pay wages. The Plaintiff also requested injunctive relief to prevent future violations.

Key Arguments and Proceedings

Legal Representation

Plaintiff: Eric Harrold, individually and on behalf of all similarly situated employees

·       Counsel for Plaintiff: Norman B. Blumenthal | Kyle R. Nordrehaug | Aparajit Bhowmik | Nicholas J. De Blouw

Defendant: Spartan Education Group, LLC

·       Counsel for Defendant: Cameron J. Davila

Claims

Unfair Competition:

The Plaintiff alleged that Spartan Education Group engaged in unlawful, unfair, and deceptive business practices under California Business and Professions Code Section 17200. The company's wage policies allowed it to gain an unfair competitive advantage over employers who followed the law.

Minimum and Overtime Wage Violations:

Workers claimed the company failed to pay them for all hours worked. The time rounding policy, off-the-clock work, and pre-shift COVID screening resulted in unpaid wages. The company also failed to properly calculate overtime by excluding incentive pay from the regular rate.

Meal and Rest Period Violations:

Employees asserted they were not provided with thirty-minute off-duty meal breaks as required by law. Workers sometimes performed duties during their supposed meal breaks. The company also failed to provide second meal periods when employees worked more than ten hours. Additionally, employees did not receive their ten-minute rest breaks and were prohibited from leaving the work premises during rest periods.

Wage Statement and Reimbursement Violations:

The company provided inaccurate itemized wage statements that did not show correct total hours worked. Employees used their personal cell phones for work but received no reimbursement for these expenses.

Final Wages and Sick Pay Violations:

Separated employees did not receive their final wages within the legally required timeframe. The company also underpaid sick leave by calculating it at base pay instead of the regular rate that included incentive compensation.

Defense

The specific defense arguments raised by Spartan Education Group were not detailed in the complaint. The company was named as the Defendant along with Does 1 through 50, which indicated that additional parties might be identified during the litigation.

Settlement

The parties reached a settlement for $400,000 to resolve all claims in the class action lawsuit. The settlement covered unpaid wages, missed meal and rest period premiums, wage statement penalties, unreimbursed business expenses, waiting time penalties, and underpaid sick pay for all class members. The case was filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Riverside.

Court documents are available upon request at jurimatic@exlitem.com