Jeree Gant v. ALDI, Inc.

I. Introduction

On February 14, 2019, Jeree Gant (“Plaintiff” or “Gant”) filed this putative class action in the Los Angeles Superior Court against ALDI, Inc. (“ALDI”), AI California LLC (“AI”) and Does 1-10 (collectively, “Defendants”). Dkt. 1-1 at 2-35. The Complaint advanced several wage-and-hour claims. Id. at 18-35.

On April 22, 2019, Defendants removed the action pursuant to the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (“CAFA”), 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d). The removal was supported by a brief (Dkt. 1) and a declaration by Paul Piorkowski (“Piorkowski Declaration” (Dkt. 3)), who is the Regional Vice President for ALDI.

On June 13, 2019, Plaintiffs filed a First Amended Complaint (“FAC”), which remains the operative one. Dkt. 22. The FAC advances the following wage-and-hour causes of action:

i. Failure to pay overtime, in violation of Cal. Lab. Code §§ 510, 1198, and the corresponding Industrial Welfare Commission (“IWC”) Wage Order; ii. Failure to pay meal period premiums, in violation of Cal. Lab. Code §§ 226.7, 512, and the corresponding IWC Wage Order; iii. Failure to pay rest period premiums, in violation of Cal. Lab. Code § 226.7, and the corresponding IWC Wage Order; iv. …