Good Earth Natural Foods Sued Over Sick Pay
A lawsuit has been filed against Good Earth Natural Foods, Inc. by the law firm Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP. The suit alleges the company failed to accurately calculate and pay sick pay wages, resulting in underpayment to employees.
The lawsuit specifies that the alleged underpayment of sick leave stems from Good Earth Natural Foods failing to factor in non-discretionary incentive wages, instead compensating employees only at their base hourly rate. California law requires that paid sick leave be calculated at an employee's "regular rate of pay," which must include all forms of compensation, not just the base wage. Employers in California have two primary methods for calculating the regular rate of pay for non-exempt employees for sick leave purposes. One is to use the regular rate of pay for the workweek in which the leave is taken, and the other is to use a 90-day look-back average of the employee's total non-overtime wages. The legal action against Good Earth Natural Foods also includes allegations beyond sick pay violations. The complaint asserts that the company failed to provide employees with their legally required meal and rest periods. For shifts lasting between six and eight hours, employees are entitled to a second ten-minute rest period, which the lawsuit claims was sometimes denied. The San Diego-based law firm, Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP, has a history of filing class-action lawsuits against companies for alleged violations of the California Labor Code. Their past and current cases frequently involve issues such as unpaid overtime, and failure to provide meal and rest breaks.
