Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, WAGE-HOUR—CLASS ACTIONS—N.D. Cal.: Final approval granted for $1.6 million class action settlement against Belfor USA Group, (Oct 10, 2025)

By Nicholas Kaster, J.D.

The settlement amount will distributed among the members of the three employee categories, their attorneys, the settlement administrator, and the named plaintiff.

A federal district court in California has granted final approval of a $1.622 million settlement agreement resolving a class action suit brought against Belfor USA Group involving claims for unpaid overtime wages, missed meal and wage breaks, and wage statement violations. The largest share of the monetary relief, referred to as the “net settlement fund” and valued at $801,686.26, will be distributed to the members of a “California class,” consisting of all persons who were employed by the companies in California in non-exempt positions “at any time during the period from February 25, 2018 through May 21, 2025” (Rodriguez v. Belfor USA Group, Inc., No. 22-cv-02071-VKD (N.D. Cal. Oct. 9, 2025)).

Recovery and restoration services. An employee brought the action on behalf of himself and other similarly situated employees against his former employers, Belfor USA Group, Belfor Environmental, Inc., Oakwood Construction and Restoration Services, Inc. and 1 800 Water Damage North America, LLC. The companies provide recovery and restoration services for property damaged by natural disasters, such as fires and floods on a nationwide basis.

Wage-hour claims. The employee claimed that during his employment, the companies violated the FLSA and California labor law by, among other things: (1) requiring unpaid overtime work; (2) failing to provide timely meal periods during the workday; (3) failing to provide paid rest periods during the workday; (4) requiring the use of personal cell phones for business purposes; and (5) requiring workers to report for scheduled shifts, but sending them home unpaid if no work was available. The employee asserted claims under the FLSA for unpaid overtime and minimum wages, rest and rest period violations, and failure to keep accurate records of all hours worked. He alleged numerous violations of the California Labor Code and asserted civil claims under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA).

Settlement agreement. The settlement agreement encompasses claims relating to three categories of employees.

First, the settlement defines a “settlement class” consisting of all persons who were employed by the companies in California in non-exempt positions “at any time during the period from February 25, 2018 through May 21, 2025.” The court refers to this as the “California class.” There are 1,049 participating members in the California class.

Second, the settlement identifies an FLSA collective consisting of all persons who were employed by the companies in the U.S. in non-exempt positions “at any time during the period from February 25, 2019 through May 21, 2025.” There are 4,432 members in the FLSA collective, of whom 488 have opted in to the FLSA settlement.

Third, the settlement includes a PAGA settlement amount for members consisting of all persons employed by the companies in California in non-exempt positions “at any time during the period from March 8, 2021 through May 21, 2025.” There are 716 PAGA members, all of whom are—by definition—also members of the California class.

Under the settlement agreement, the parties agreed to a non-reversionary settlement for a release of claims in return for a gross settlement amount of $1,622,000 to be distributed among the members of the three employee categories, their attorneys, the settlement administrator, and the employee.

California class. The largest share of the monetary relief, referred to as the “net settlement fund,” will be distributed to the members of the California class. The value of the net settlement fund is $801,686.26. This amount will be distributed to the members of the California class who do not affirmatively opt out of the settlement agreement, in proportion to the number of weeks each member worked for the employers during the class period. The settlement provides that when members of the California class opt out, the remaining members’ distributions are proportionally increased, so that 100 percent of the net settlement fund would be distributed to the California class. The settlement administrator will deduct any applicable employee-side payroll taxes from the class members’ payments and ensure they are paid to the appropriate authorities. Additionally, if any class members’ settlement checks remain uncashed 180 days after being issued, the remaining funds will be donated to Worksafe, a workplace safety non-profit organization.

FLSA collective action. The settlement agreement also creates an “FLSA settlement fund” of $250,000 that will be distributed to members of the FLSA collective who affirmatively opt in to the settlement. As with the net settlement fund for the California class, the FLSA settlement fund will be distributed among the participating members in proportion to the number of weeks they worked during the class period, so that 100 percent of the FLSA settlement fund will be distributed.

PAGA settlement. The settlement agreement provides for $200,000 to be allocated to a settlement of the PAGA claims. Of that amount, 75 percent or $150,000 will be paid to the California Labor and Workforce and Development Agency (LWDA). The remaining 25 percent or $50,000 will be distributed to the PAGA members in proportion to the number of weeks each member worked during the PAGA period. However, unlike the California class, PAGA members are not permitted to exclude themselves from this part of the settlement or object to it.

Attorney fees, settlement administration, and class representative payment. In addition to the payments associated with the three employee categories described above, the settlement agreement provides for payment to class counsel, the settlement administrator, and the employee. The agreement allows Capstone Law APC, the law firm that represents the employee in this action and that the court appointed as class counsel to move for an award of attorneys’ fees not in excess of $300,000 or 18.5 percent of the gross settlement amount. The agreement provides that counsel may also seek to recover costs of up to $30,000. Additionally, the settlement agreement provides for payment of an estimated $32,500 in settlement administration costs to the settlement administrator. Finally, the settlement agreement allows for the employee to apply to the court for a class representative enhancement payment of $10,000, in addition to the amount he will otherwise receive as a member of the California class, the FLSA collective, and the PAGA settlement.

Notice to members. In its preliminary approval order, the court approved, as to form and content, the Notice of Class Action Settlement and the FLSA Notice, and directed the mailing of the notices to California class members and FLSA collective action members. The court said that it received no objections, and no one appeared at the October 7, 2025 final fairness hearing to state any objection to the proposed settlement.

The case is No. 22-cv-02071-VKD.

Judge: DeMarchi, V.

Attorneys: Robert Joseph Drexler, Jr. (Capstone Law) for Richard Rodriguez. Douglas Ottenwess (Quarles & Brady) for Belfor USA Group Inc.

Companies: Belfor USA Group Inc.

Cases: WageHour ClassActions Overtime AttorneysFees CaliforniaNews