Plaintiffs Move for Class Certification in Wage and Hour Misclassification Action

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The plaintiffs moved for class certification in the wage and hour misclassification action against Jan-Pro Franchising Int'l.

The Case: Roman v. Jan-Pro Franchising Int'l

The Court: United States District Court, Northern District of California

The Case No.: C 16-05961 WHA

The Plaintiff: Roman v. Jan-Pro Franchising Int'l

The plaintiff in the case, Gloria Roman, Gerardo Vazquez, and Juan Aguilar, worked for the defendant providing janitorial services. The plaintiffs claim the defendant misclassified them and other putative class members as independent contractors rather than employees who would benefit from the protections offered by employment law. By allegedly misclassifying the plaintiffs, Jan-Pro Franchising Int'l violated California minimum wage, overtime, expense reimbursement, and unlawful deduction laws. The plaintiffs seek compensation on behalf of the putative class.

The Defendant: Roman v. Jan-Pro Franchising Int'l

The defendant in the case, Jan-Pro Franchising Int'l, is an international janitorial cleaning business that uses a franchising model with three tiers. The top tier consists of the defendant, Jan-Pro International, Inc. The middle tier consists of "master franchisees" or "master owners" who are regional, third-party entities that purchased exclusive rights to use the trademarked "Jan-Pro" logo. (There were 91 master franchisees in the United States as of 2009). The third tier or bottom tier consists of "unit franchisees" contracted with master franchisees to clean for commercial accounts. Unit franchisees do not contract with the defendant, Jan-Pro Franchising Int'l. A given unit franchisee can be an individual or a few partners who can hire additional workers to help them clean. The plaintiffs purchased unit franchises from two different master franchisees. (The master franchisees in question are not parties herein.) The plaintiffs seek to certify the following class: all unit franchisees who signed franchise agreements with master franchisees in California and performed cleaning services for the defendant since December 12, 2004.

Details of the Case: Roman v. Jan-Pro Franchising Int'l

The August 2, 2022 order grants the plaintiffs' motion for class certification as to:

  • Failure to pay minimum wage for mandatory training

  • Failure to reimburse for expenses incurred for required uniforms, necessary cleaning supplies/equipment

  • Unlawful deductions of management fees, sales fees, and marketing fees

And the order denies class certification for the remaining labor code claims and issues. The court also granted summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs for all the certified matters.

If you have questions about how to file a California class action suit, 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.