Former Employee Claims HiHo Cheeseburger Failed to Provide Employees with Meal Breaks

/

In recent news, one of HiHo Cheeseburger’s former employers filed a lawsuit claiming the company did not provide meal breaks and rest periods required by labor law.

The Case: Cristian Duenas Achutegul vs. American Cheeseburger, LLC dba HiHo Cheeseburger

The Court: Los Angeles County Superior Court

The Case No.: 24STCV30392

The Plaintiff: Achutegul vs. HiHo Cheeseburger

The plaintiff in the case, Achutegul, is a former employee of HiHo Cheeseburger. The company employed Achutegul from November 2023 through February 2024. As a non-exempt, hourly employee, Achutegul was entitled to legally required meal breaks and rest periods, payment of minimum wage and overtime pay, etc. In November 2024, he sued, claiming the company violated multiple labor laws.

The Defendant: Achutegul vs. HiHo Cheeseburger

HiHo Cheeseburger, the defendant, owns and operates restaurants in California (including Los Angeles County). According to the complaint, the company engaged in several labor law violations, including:

  • Failing to pay minimum wage

  • Failing to pay overtime wages

  • Failing to provide legally required meal breaks

  • Failing to provide legally required rest periods

  • Failing to provide accurate itemized wage statements

  • Failing to pay wages when due

  • Failing to reimburse employees for necessary business expenses

  • Failing to provide gratuities

According to the plaintiff, HiHo Cheeseburger allegedly required workers to complete tasks before and after their scheduled shifts and during their off-duty meal breaks and rest periods. The lawsuit claims that the restaurant failed to compensate its employees for the time they spent compiling “off the clock” tasks even though they were “under their employer’s control.” As such, they failed to pay their employees the applicable “minimum wage” for all the hours they worked in a given pay period.

The Case: Achutegul vs. HiHo Cheeseburger

Achutegul vs. HiHo Cheeseburger is currently pending in the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

If you have questions about filing a California wage and hour lawsuit, please get in touch with Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik DeBlouw LLP. Experienced employment law attorneys are ready to assist you at various law firm offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Chicago.