$1,150,000 Class Action Settlement Granted Preliminary Approval by Alameda Superior Court

On January 14, 2020, Judge Brad Seligman of the Alameda County Superior Court granted Preliminary Approval of a $1,150,000 class action settlement in the matter of Macias, et al. v. QLM, Inc., Case No. RG19005507. The proposed settlement, should the Court grant final approval, stands to benefit approximately 95 construction workers who work or worked for QLM, Inc.

The lawsuit claims that Defendants paid workers based on a pre-determined construction schedule at the project sites rather than actual time worked; required workers to report to work at the company yard at 5:30 a.m. for weekly safety meetings that started at approximately 5:45 a.m. yet failed to compensate workers beginning from the time they reported to work; denied compensation to drivers for work they perform outside the construction schedule, including reporting to the yard at around 5:30 a.m. to load company trucks with equipment and materials, driving these trucks, and delivering equipment and crews to the jobsite; required crew workers who travel in company trucks to return to the yard at the end of the day to perform work without pay; failed to provide rest periods to workers at the rates required, i.e., two rest breaks for shifts greater than 6 hours up to 10 hours, three breaks for shifts greater than 10 hours up to 14; failed to provide workers with meal periods of no less than thirty minutes for shifts greater than five hours and a second meal period for shifts greater than 10 hours; failed to reimburse for all necessary expenses or losses incurred; failed to pay all final wages upon termination; failed to pay the appropriate prevailing wage on public works; and failed to issue accurate wage statements. Defendants deny Plaintiffs’ claims and deny they did anything wrong.

A hearing for final approval of the settlement will be held on April 14, 2020 in Department 23 of the Alameda County Superior Court located at 1221 Oak Street Oakland, CA 94612 .