Feb. 24, 2015—A former Caliber Collision technician filed suit against the 232-shop MSO last week, citing a number of allegations including underpayment.
The suit was filed Feb. 17 in California’s Superior Court in Los Angeles, according to court documents.
The suit’s lead plaintiff, Samuel Castillo, is seeking class-action status for the suit, and alleges that Caliber violated California labor laws by not providing overtime payment, not paying for all hours worked and failing to reimburse technicians for tools necessary to complete their respective jobs.
As has been previously reported by FenderBender, California’s minimum wage requirements differ from Federal regulations, as traditional flat-rate pay systems have been banned in California for nearly two years. The change to the state’s labor laws came in 2013, spurred by the results of a lawsuit brought on by technicians at a Los Angeles dealership body shop.
In California, shop owners are no longer allowed to average an employee’s pay over the total hours worked in order to meet minimum-wage requirements. Instead, an employee must earn at least minimum wage for each hour worked.
