In May 2016, HSR and McCracken, Stemerman & Holsberry, LLP filed a complaint on behalf of Salvador Rojas Diaz, Mirna Saavedra, Maria Galvez, Francisco Romero, Epigmenio Roman Cabrera, Jose Luis Corral, and Franklin R. Montoya against Sofitel Hotel Los Angeles in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. The complaint alleged numerous wage and hour violations, including failure to pay workers the minimum wage mandated by Los Angeles’ Citywide Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Ordinance and failure to provide meal and rest periods. Sofitel Los Angeles is a luxurious four-star hotel in Beverly Hills and prides itself on being one of the largest hotel operators in the world.
The Los Angeles City Council passed the Citywide Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Ordinance in October 2014, requiring hotels containing 150 or more rooms to pay workers an increased minimum wage. The Ordinance expressly identifies the need for an increased minimum wage for hotel workers, providing that:
Income equality is one of the most pressing economic, social and civil rights issues facing Los Angeles. By proceeding incrementally and applying a minimum wage to hotel workers at larger hotels . . . the City seeks to promote the health, safety and welfare of thousands of hotel workers by ensuring they receive decent compensation for the work they perform.
In January 2017, HSR reached a $690,000 settlement on behalf of Plaintiffs and a class of over 450 workers at the Sofitel Los Angeles. On August 14, 2017 the Court granted final approval of the class settlement.