SANTA CRUZ — The Santa Cruz Seaside Co., which operates the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, recently settled a lawsuit in Santa Cruz County Superior Court to pay nearly $6 million to a group of current and former employees for unpaid minimum wages, rest periods and overtime.
The lawsuit was filed in July 2023 and includes accusations that the company didn’t provide meal breaks or overtime pay, and rounded hours to avoid paying employees, among eight total complaints in the lawsuit. Although the Santa Cruz Seaside Co. denies all the claims by the plaintiff in the case, it has agreed to pay the settlement, which will be finalized in January 2025.
A spokesperson for the Santa Cruz Seaside Co. told the Sentinel that the settlement was preliminarily approved by the Santa Cruz County Superior Court on Sept. 17, and gave the Sentinel this statement.
“As a family-owned and operated century-old company, the trust and well-being of our employees is vital to us, and we care deeply about ensuring everyone in our employ is treated and compensated fairly,” the statement read. “While we deny the allegations in this case, we are pleased to agree to this settlement and put this matter behind us.”
The substantial settlement of $5.9 million will be paid to those working for the Santa Cruz Seaside Co. between July 25, 2019, and Aug. 11. After attorney fees are paid, the remaining settlement will go to current and former employees, with the named plaintiff receiving about $7,500, according to court documents.
The documents outline that the named plaintiff, Santa Cruz County resident Travis Sanford was employed by the Santa Cruz Seaside Co. from August 2016 to December 2021 as a seasonal food service worker at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.
The class action complaint filed in July 2023 outlines the eight complaints made by the plaintiff and states that, “Defendants (Santa Cruz Seaside Co.) hired Plaintiff (Sanford) and the other class members but failed to properly pay them all overtime wages and minimum wages for all hours worked, failed to provide all meal and rest breaks to which they were entitled, failed to timely pay all wages upon termination of employment, failed to provide accurate wage statements, failed to reimburse necessary business-related expenses and failed to adhere to other related protections afforded by the California Labor Code and applicable Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order.”
The eight complaints are described in detail in the July filing and begin with the assertion that the plaintiff and others in the class action lawsuit were not paid overtime when it was required by law. The document states that the plaintiff and other class members “regularly worked in excess of eight hours in a day, in excess of twelve hours in a day, and/or in excess of forty hours in a week. However, Defendants did not record Plaintiff and the other class members’ actual hours worked and intentionally and willfully failed to pay all overtime wages owed to Plaintiff and the other class members and failed to pay one and-one half times the regular hourly rate for overtime hours.”
Notices of the settlement have been sent to the employees included in the class action and the Santa Cruz County Superior Court will hold a final approval hearing next year. Settlement checks will be distributed to the members of the class action lawsuit after the January 2025 hearing.
To read the court documents, visit santacruzcourt.org.