Lorta

FACTS

In July 2018, the five individual plaintiffs filed a complaint against Bishop, alleging they were employed in various construction capacities on public works projects for which Bishop was a contractor. They asserted six causes of action: (1) Failure to pay wages and overtime; (2) failure to pay prevailing wages on public works; (3) failure to pay wages of terminated or resigned employees; (4) failure to provide or otherwise compensate for missed meal and rest breaks; (5) recovery under public works bonds; and (6) unfair competition in violation of Business and Professions Code section 17200 et seq. In November 2018, Bishop wrote a letter to plaintiffs’ counsel stating it had “discovered an inadvertent shortfall in the payment of wages made to [plaintiffs].” It enclosed checks for each plaintiff that, in aggregate, amounted to $112,410.66. The payments were broken down by checks for each plaintiff’s wages (less withholdings) and penalties and interest (without any withholdings). Bishop claimed in the letter that these checks fully compensated plaintiffs for back wages, interest, and waiting time penalties. It stated, “Bishop is providing these payments in good faith based on…