Rosales v. Harbor Distributing, LLC
ORANGE COUNTY SUPERIOR
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Case No. 30-2023-01300842-CU-OE-CXC
You may be eligible to receive money from an employee class action lawsuit and employee representative action lawsuit (the “Action”) against Harbor Distributing, L.L.C. (“Harbor” or “Defendant”) for alleged California labor law violations. The Action was filed by former Harbor employees Miguel Rosales, Elio Ruben Alonso, Johnny Marquez, and Leo Patino (“Plaintiffs”) and seeks payment of (1) back wages under California and Federal law, and other relief, for a class of non-exempt hourly employees (“Class Members”) who worked for Defendant during the Class Period from November 11, 2020 through May 27, 2024; (2) back wages and other relief under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. sections 201, et seq. (“FLSA”) for a class of hourly employees who worked for Harbor during the FLSA Period (November 11, 2020 through May 27, 2024) (“Collective Members”); and (3) penalties under the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004, Labor Code sections 2698 et seq. (“PAGA”) for all hourly-paid non-exempt employees who worked for Defendant during the PAGA Period (November 4, 2021 through May 27, 2024) (“Aggrieved Employees”).
The proposed Settlement has two main parts: (1) a Class Settlement requiring Defendant to fund Individual Class and FLSA Payments and (2) a PAGA Settlement requiring Defendant to fund Individual PAGA Payments and pay penalties to the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency (“LWDA”).
The Court has already preliminarily approved the proposed Settlement and approved the Notice. The Court has not yet decided whether to grant final approval. Your legal rights are affected whether you act or not act. Read the Notice carefully. You will be deemed to have carefully read and understood it. At the Final Approval Hearing, the Court will decide whether to finally approve the Settlement and how much of the Settlement will be paid to Plaintiffs and Plaintiffs’ attorneys (“Class Counsel”). The Court will also decide whether to enter a judgment that requires Defendant to make payments under the Settlement and requires Class Members and Aggrieved Employees to give up their rights to assert certain claims against Defendant.
If you worked for Defendant during the Class Period and/or the FLSA Period and/or the PAGA Period, you have three basic options under the Settlement:
(1) Do Nothing. You don’t have to do anything to participate in the proposed Settlement and be eligible for an Individual Class Payment and/or an Individual PAGA Payment. As a Participating Class Member, though, you will give up your right to assert Class Period wage claims and PAGA Period penalty claims against Defendant.
(2) Opt-Out of the Class Settlement. You can exclude yourself from the Class Settlement (opt-out) by submitting the written Request for Exclusion or otherwise notifying the Administrator in writing. If you opt-out of the Settlement, you will not receive an Individual Class Payment. You will, however, preserve your right to personally pursue Class Period wage claims against Defendant, and, if you are an Aggrieved Employee, remain eligible for an Individual PAGA Payment. You cannot opt-out of the PAGA portion of the proposed Settlement.
(3) Opt-In to the FLSA Settlement: You must affirmatively opt-in to the FLSA portion of the proposed Settlement by endorsing, depositing, and/or cashing the Individual FLSA Payment check which will include language substantially similar to the following:
“My endorsing, cashing, or depositing of this check constitutes my consent to join the lawsuit entitled Miguel Rosales et al. v. Harbor Distributing, L.L.C. et al., pending in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Orange, Case No. 30-2023-01300842-cu-oe-cxx, pursuant to the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. Section 216(b).”
Defendant will not retaliate against you for any actions you take with respect to the proposed Settlement.
SUMMARY OF YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS IN THIS SETTLEMENT
| You Don’t Have to Do Anything to Participate in the Settlement | If you do nothing, you will be a Participating Class Member, eligible for an Individual Class Payment and an Individual PAGA Payment (if any). In exchange, you will give up your right to assert the wage claims against Defendant that are covered by this Settlement (Released Claims). |
| You must opt-in to receive your portion (if any) of the FLSA Settlement | You may opt-in to the FLSA portion of the proposed Settlement by endorsing, depositing, or cashing the Individual FLSA Payment check. The check will include language substantially similar to the language provided above. |
| You Can Opt-out of the Class Settlement but not the PAGA Settlement The Opt-out Deadline is June 24, 2025 | If you don’t want to fully participate in the proposed Settlement, you can opt-out of the Class Settlement by sending the Administrator a written Request for Exclusion. Requests for Exclusion can be submitted to the Administrator via fax, mail or email. Once excluded, you will be a Non-Participating Class Member and no longer eligible for an Individual Class Payment. Non-Participating Class Members cannot object to any portion of the proposed Settlement. See Section 6 of the Notice. You cannot opt-out of the PAGA portion of the proposed Settlement. Defendant must pay Individual PAGA Payments to all Aggrieved Employees and the Aggrieved Employees thereby give up their rights to pursue Released Claims (defined below). |
| Participating Class Members Can Object to the Class Settlement but not the PAGA Settlement Written Objections Must be Submitted by June 24, 2025 | All Class Members who do not opt-out (“Participating Class Members”) can object to any aspect of the proposed Settlement. Objections can be submitted to the Administrator via fax, mail, or email. The Court’s decision whether to finally approve the Settlement will include a determination of how much will be paid to Class Counsel and Plaintiffs who pursued the Action on behalf of the Class. You are not personally responsible for any payments to Class Counsel or Plaintiff, but every dollar paid to Class Counsel and Plaintiffs reduces the overall amount paid to Participating Class Members. You can object to the amounts requested by Class Counsel or Plaintiffs if you think they are unreasonable. See Section 7 of the Notice. |
| You Can Participate in the July 24, 2025 Final Approval Hearing | The Court’s Final Approval Hearing is scheduled to take place on July 24, 2025. You don’t have to attend but you do have the right to appear (or hire an attorney to appear on your behalf at your own cost), in person, by telephone or by using the Court’s virtual appearance platform. Participating Class Members can verbally object to the Settlement at the Final Approval Hearing. See Section 8 of the Notice. |
| You Can Challenge the Calculation of Your Work Days Written Challenges Must be Submitted by June 24, 2025 | The amount of your Individual Class Payment, FLSA Payment (if any), and PAGA Payment (if any) depends on how many days you worked during the Class Period, and/or how many days you worked during the FLSA Period, and how many days you worked during the PAGA Period, respectively. The number of Class Period days, FLSA Period days, and/or PAGA Period days you worked according to Defendant’s records is stated on the first page of this Notice. If you disagree with either of these numbers, you must challenge it by June 24, 2025. See Section 4 of the Notice. A challenge to the calculation of the number of Work Days can be submitted to the Administrator via fax, mail or email. |