Popular California Restaurant Chain Sued for Misclassification and Wage Theft

Sous chefs, prep cooks, and managers have been misclassified as exempt employees and denied overtime pay at 9021Pho Restaurants in Los Angeles, California, according to a lawsuit filed in California federal court. The collective action lawsuit claims that the Vietnamese Fusion restaurants failed to pay workers time and a half for all hours worked in excess of forty per week. According to the Complaint, workers were wrongly classified as exempt employees and were paid a salary when they should have been paid overtime for all weekly hours worked over forty. 9021Pho also allegedly failed to provide workers with meal and rest breaks, as required by the California Labor Code and Wage Order. Attorneys for the restaurant workers claim that the chain acted in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the California Labor Code, the California Wage Order, and the California Business and Professions Code. The lawsuit seeks back wages, compensatory damages, consequential damages, liquidated damages, special damages, civil penalties, and attorneys’ fees.