A group of employees at the Hilton Long Beach has accepted $130,000 from HEI Hotels and Resorts to settle claims that for over a decade workers were denied breaks entitled to them by California law.
A lawsuit filed by 18 workers at the hotel “allege[d] a pattern of practices by […] managers in several departments at the Hilton that discouraged and prevented Plaintiffs from taking meal and rest breaks owed to them under state law.”
“After about 11 years of almost never taking rest breaks, I am thrilled we are finally seeing justice,” said Jose Landino, a cook at the Hilton. “The money I am receiving from this settlement will be helpful as the holidays approach, but above all I feel proud that we stood up and demanded the HEI Hilton Long Beach Hotel respect us and the law.”
According to the lawsuit, “managers and supervisors failed to comply with meal and rest break laws as a matter of course,” and employees “faced direct pressure from their supervisors to work through meals and to skip breaks in order to keep up with a heavy workload. They also feared the repercussions of asserting their rights to breaks. In addition, HEI’s understaffing and its systematic focus on cutting worker hours to a minimum since 2006 created structural impediments to Plaintiffs taking breaks. [… I]ncreasing workloads as staff was cut [meant] they had no one to cover their work to allow them to take a break. As a result, full compliance by HEI with the law was not only absent from the culture of the workplace, but it was practically impossible.”
In its settlement with the workers, HEI Hilton admitted no wrongdoing.
“We are glad the matter has been amicably settled with an understanding of no fault by any parties,” said Director of Human Resources Ken Melinie in a statement to the Long Beach Post. “The Hilton Long Beach has always complied with California’s meal and rest period requirements.”
Melinie also provided the Post with English and Spanish-language copies of a document entitled “California Meal and Rest Periods Policy” that he says “has been provided to all employees” and which contains a space for employee signature.
Leigh Shelton, a spokesperson for UNITE HERE Local 11, which assisted the workers in their lawsuit, tells the Post she believes the situation at the Hilton has improved as a result of the lawsuit.
“I think that for the most part now workers are able to take breaks,” she says. “[…] The lawsuit serves as a bit of a wake-up call for the company, because now they know that the workers have been made aware of their rights, and the management starts changing things.”
Sameer Ashar, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, concurs.
“Everybody’s now on notice about these things,” he says. “[…] The way that the work are structured, it’s up to the employees to take them. And I think now they feel more empowered.
That is certainly the case with housekeeper Maria Patlan.
“Like many at the hotel, I worked through my breaks for years while rushing from room to room changing beds and scrubbing floors,” she says. “I hope this money will help teach the Hilton Long Beach a lesson in how to treat people like me.”
The settlement is another win for local hotel workers, after the passing of Measure N in November, which among other things, set a $13 per hour minimum wage for employees of hotels with more than 100 rooms.