Current and former employees at the Orange County grocery chain allege they were unable to take legally required breaks; the claims remain unresolved.
More than two dozen current and former Mother’s Market & Kitchen employees have filed wage claims totaling approximately $45,000 over alleged missed rest breaks, according to reporting by the Daily Pilot.
The complaints come amid an ongoing unionization campaign at the local grocery chain and follow the termination of 15 workers from the company’s Costa Mesa flagship store. United Food and Commercial Workers Local 324 has separately filed an unfair labor practice charge alleging the workers were retaliated against for union activity and other protected conduct.
What Workers Are Alleging
Employees say heavy workloads and staffing levels sometimes prevented them from taking required 10-minute rest breaks. One Huntington Beach kitchen worker told the Daily Pilot that he filed a claim seeking $4,300 in compensation for allegedly missed breaks.
California law generally requires paid rest periods for non-exempt employees based on the length of a shift. When an employer fails to provide a required rest period, state law may require an additional hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate.
The Claims Are Allegations
The wage claims and unfair labor practice charge have not been finally adjudicated, and the allegations should not be treated as established findings against Mother’s Market. A company spokesperson did not respond to the Daily Pilot’s request for comment for its Sept. 4 report.
Workers and union supporters have also staged public actions outside Mother’s Market locations and the company’s Newport Beach headquarters as the labor dispute continues.
Why It Matters Locally
Mother’s Market is a well-known Orange County-based grocery chain, making the dispute significant for local workers, shoppers and businesses following labor organizing across the region. The cases also illustrate how routine workplace issues such as breaks, scheduling and staffing can become central questions in an organizing campaign.
