Two housekeepers at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach have filed a class-action lawsuit against the hotel, claiming they weren’t paid double-time when it was merited and often missed their legally required 10-minute breaks because of heavy workloads.
The suit, filed Wednesday, Feb. 1 in Los Angeles Superior Court, says the workers are guaranteed those rights under the California Labor Code, the California Unfair Competition Law and the Long Beach Hotel Working Conditions Initiative, which voters approved in November 2018.
Hotel management did not respond to calls and emails seeking comment on the lawsuit.
The lawsuit says Hyatt violated the “humane workload” provision of the initiative, which mandates that hotel workers who clean rooms amounting to more than 4,000 square feet of floorspace during an eight-hour shift earn double their regular rate of pay.
The complaint further alleges the hotel failed to make wage records available to employees in a timely fashion as mandated by the initiative and forced housekeepers to work more than 10 hours on some shifts without their consent.
It additionally claims Hyatt failed to post signs on guest room doors telling travelers that hotel employees are protected by law from threatening behavior and are equipped with panic buttons when working alone in guest rooms.
The plaintiffs include housekeepers Michelle Bain, Carmen Luna and other coworkers who claim to have endured similar treatment. The lawsuit estimates that number to be more than 50, but less than 100.
Bain has worked at the Hyatt since July 2004 and Luna has been there since November 2014, although both were laid off from March or April 2020 to April 15, 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Attorney Lauren Teukolsky, who represented the workers along with Zoe Tucker of Unite Here Local 11, said Hyatt has been “flouting the law since the day (the initiative) was passed.”
“Hotels are on notice that they can’t cheat workers out of their wages with impunity,” Teukolsky said in a statement. “We look forward to our day in court.”
Before the Long Beach Hotel Working Conditions Initiative, housekeepers at the Hyatt were often assigned to clean more rooms than were possible during an eight-hour shift. The initiative, which took effect Nov. 23, 2018, was intended to reduce their workloads, the lawsuit said, but the hotel failed to comply.
The complaint seeks to recover lost wages with interest and attorney fees, as well as penalties for all current and former housekeepers who:
—Cleaned more than 4,000 square feet during a shift but didn’t receive double-time pay
—Requested a copy of their work records, which are required to be available under the initiative, but didn’t receive them
—Worked more than 10 hours in a workday without Hyatt Regency first obtaining the proper written consent required under the initiative
—Worked shifts of at least 3.5 hours, but were not authorized or permitted to take a paid 10-minute rest period for every four hours worked
—Were discharged, laid off or otherwise separated from employment at any time in the three years preceding the filing of the complaint through the date of judgment
Each housekeeper who failed to receive wage statements, including worked, could recover up to $4,000 in penalties alone, the lawsuit says.
