HomeGoods Hit with Class Action Over Alleged California Labor Law Violations

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A proposed class action alleges HomeGoods has violated California’s Labor Code by not permitting night shift workers to leave the building during unpaid meal breaks.

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The 20-page case claims that by not allowing overnight employees to leave for their breaks, HomeGoods has failed to provide the California workers with proper minimum and overtime wages, required meal and rest breaks and proper wages in lieu of missed breaks.

The plaintiff, a former employee at HomeGoods’ Encinitas, California location, says it was the retailer’s policy to lock the facility and set the alarm during her shift from 9:00 p.m. to 5:45 a.m., which the suit says she typically worked through the October-December holiday season. According to the case, employees could not leave without the assistance of the assistant store manager, and they were informed that they could not leave the building during their unpaid meal break at 1:30 a.m. or during rest periods.

HomeGoods’ failure to relinquish all control over night-shift workers during their meal breaks means that these periods count for hours worked, and the plaintiff and other similarly situated employees should have been paid for this time.

“As defined by the Industrial Welfare Commission, hours worked include all time an employee is subject to the employer’s control and all time the employee is suffered or permitted to work, regardless of whether the employee is required to work,” the filing states.

The suit alleges that as a result of its lock-in policy, HomeGoods has violated California’s Labor Code by failing to pay employees at least the minimum wage for the time they were under its control, or overtime wages for any hours worked over eight in a day or 40 in a workweek.

In addition, the case claims that HomeGoods has denied night-shift employees their required meal and rest breaks. The complaint claims the employees are therefore entitled to one hour of pay at their regular rate for each day that they were not provided statutory-compliant rest periods.

In further violation of California law, HomeGoods, the suit alleges, has “knowingly and intentionally” failed to provide employees accurate wage statements as the documents did not include the non-compliant meal periods, which count for hours worked. Finally, the retailer has yet to pay former workers all wages due upon the termination of their employment since they were not paid for the non-compliant meal periods, the case says.

The suit also names as a defendant Nash Tang, the assistant store manager who supervised the plaintiff during her employment at HomeGoods’ Encinitas, California location.

The lawsuit looks to represent current and former employees employed by HomeGoods in California who were subjected to the overnight lock-in policy between July 1, 2019 through February 27, 2023.

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