Thurman

In January 2004, Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1309, AFL-CIO (the union), filed a representative action on behalf of its member bus drivers who worked in and around National City, California, alleging that the various defendant employers had violated provisions of the Labor Code 1 that require employers to provide meal and rest periods for their employees. In February 2005, the union filed an operative verified third amended *1119 complaint, which added a number of individual employees as plaintiffs, including appellant Leander H. Thurman. The named defendants included appellants Bayshore Transit Management, Inc. (Bayshore), and its parent corporation McDonald Transit Associates, Inc. (McDonald) (collectively defendants), who, until March 3, 2007, contracted with the City of National City to operate National City Transit (NCT), a carrier that ran three fixed bus routes in the city. 2 At the time of trial, Thurman was the only remaining plaintiff, and McDonald and Bayshore were the only remaining defendants in the action.

After a bench trial, the trial court filed a statement of decision and entered a judgment imposing civil penalties, including unpaid wages, in the…