Forest Lawn Mortuary & Forest Lawn Memorial-Park Association Face Allegations They Failed to Pay Employee Wages

In recent news, Forest Lawn Mortuary & Forest Lawn Memorial-Park Association face allegations they failed to provide their employees wages for all hours worked.

The Case: Devonte Rojo v. Forest Lawn Mortuary & Forest Lawn Memorial-Park Association

The Court: Los Angeles County Superior Court of the State of California

The Case No.: 23STCV02200

The Plaintiff: Devonte Rojo v. Forest Lawn Mortuary & Forest Lawn Memorial-Park Association

The plaintiff in the case, Devonte Rojo, worked for Forest Lawn Mortuary & Forest Lawn Memorial-Park Association in Los Angeles from January 2019 through February 2022. Rojo was a non-exempt employee paid hourly and entitled to minimum wage, overtime, and rest period/meal break protections provided by federal and state labor laws. Rojo filed a class action complaint alleging that the defendant violated the labor code by failing to pay minimum wage, failing to pay overtime wages for overtime hours worked, failing to provide legally required rest periods, failing to provide employees with accurate, itemized wage statements, failing to reimburse employees for eligible business expenses, and failing to provide legally mandated meal breaks.

The Defendant: Devonte Rojo v. Forest Lawn Mortuary & Forest Lawn Memorial-Park Association

According to the complaint, the defendant in the case, Forest Lawn Mortuary & Forest Lawn Memorial-Park Association (Forest Lawn), were joint employers of Devonte Rojo, the plaintiff. Forest Lawn operates funeral businesses in Los Angeles and throughout California.

The Case: Devonte Rojo v. Forest Lawn Mortuary & Forest Lawn Memorial-Park Association

The case documents in Devonte Rojo v. Forest Lawn Mortuary & Forest Lawn Memorial-Park Association allege that rigorous work schedules left Forest Lawn employees unable to take off-duty meal breaks and that the employees were not fully relieved from their job duties when they did take a break or meal break. Instead, the plaintiff claims employees were interrupted during off-duty breaks and meal periods to complete tasks for the company. Allegedly, employees were required to work more than five hours a shift without being provided their off-duty meal break as required by law. Additionally, the plaintiff claims Forest Lawn failed to offer a second off-duty meal period when employees were required to work 10 hours in one shift. Forest Lawn policy allegedly required employees to remain on call/duty during rest periods and meal breaks. Due to this uniform policy and practice at the company, employees were required to forfeit their meal breaks without receiving additional compensation as required by law.

If you have questions about how to file a California wage and hour class action lawsuit, please get in touch with Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik DeBlouw LLP. Experienced employment law attorneys are ready to assist you in various law firm offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Chicago.