Contract analysis

1. My name is Lorraine Okafor. I am the Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Aurelius Media Americas Inc. ("AMA" or the "Company"). I have held this position since June 2019. Prior to joining AMA, I served in human resources leadership roles in the entertainment industry for over fifteen (15) years, including positions of increasing responsibility at major production companies and studios. I make this declarat

2. AMA is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware (Delaware Division of Corporations File No. 5284731), and is qualified to transact business in the State of California. AMA's principal office is located at 8500 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 1400, West Hollywood, California 90069. AMA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aurelius Global Media Group PLC ("AGMG"), a public limited company orga

3. AMA employs approximately 3,200 employees in the United States, of whom approximately 2,400 are based in California. During the putative class period alleged in this action — November 1, 2018 through the date of preliminary approval of any class settlement — approximately 1,850 individuals were or had been classified as non-exempt, hourly employees of AMA in California at some point during that period. These non-e

4. AMA operates the following seven (7) production facilities in California, each of which serves a distinct operational function within the Company's overall business: (a) Facility 1 — 8500 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 1400, West Hollywood, California 90069. This facility serves as AMA's corporate headquarters and also houses the Company's primary post-production operations, including editing suites, color correction bay

5. AMA maintains a written Meal and Rest Break Policy (the "Policy"), which was most recently revised in January 2019. The Policy is distributed to all non-exempt employees at the time of hire as part of the Company's new-hire onboarding materials, and is available at all times on AMA's internal human resources portal, which is accessible to all employees via desktop and mobile devices. The substantive provisions of

6. With respect to rest periods, the Policy provides that all non-exempt employees are entitled to a net ten (10) minute paid rest period for every four (4) hours worked, or major fraction thereof. The Policy further provides that rest periods should, insofar as practicable, be scheduled in the middle of each work period. Employees working shifts exceeding ten (10) hours are entitled to a third rest period. Because r

7. AMA utilizes the "TimeTrack Pro" electronic timekeeping system, which is developed and administered by NovaPay Solutions Inc. ("NovaPay"). NovaPay is headquartered at 2200 Powell Street, Suite 600, Emeryville, California 94608, and has served as AMA's payroll processor and timekeeping system provider since January 1, 2019. Prior to January 1, 2019, AMA utilized a manual time-sheet system in which employees recorde

8. The TimeTrack Pro system includes an automatic meal period deduction feature (the "Auto-Deduction Feature"). The Auto-Deduction Feature, as configured for AMA's account at the time of system deployment in January 2019, automatically deducts thirty (30) minutes from an employee's total recorded hours for any shift of six (6) hours or more. The deduction is applied at the sixth hour of the shift — that is, once an e

9. In addition to the Auto-Deduction Feature, the TimeTrack Pro system includes a "Missed Meal Attestation" feature (the "Attestation Feature"). The Attestation Feature is designed to allow employees to report a missed or shortened meal period by selecting a designated option on the electronic time clock terminal at their facility. When an employee activates the Attestation Feature, the system performs two functions:

10. The Attestation Feature was activated at the following four (4) facilities at the time of the initial TimeTrack Pro system rollout in January 2019: (a) Facility 1 — West Hollywood Headquarters and Post-Production (8500 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 1400, West Hollywood, CA 90069); (b) Facility 3 — Sherman Oaks Digital Content Production (15301 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 300, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403); (c) Facility 5 — Holl

11. Even at the four (4) facilities where the Attestation Feature was properly activated throughout the class period, usage rates for the feature were low. Based on AMA's analysis of TimeTrack Pro data for the class period (November 1, 2018 through the present), as confirmed by Karen Fong, AMA's Payroll Manager, the Attestation Feature was utilized at the following rates, expressed as a percentage of total eligible s

12. AMA's Employee Handbook (March 2021 revision) states, in relevant part, that employees "are entitled to a 30-minute uninterrupted meal period" and "should notify their supervisor if they are unable to take a meal period." However, the Employee Handbook does not specifically reference the TimeTrack Pro Missed Meal Attestation Feature by name, nor does it contain step-by-step instructions for activating the feature

13. AMA's fourteen (14) show units operate in materially different environments, with distinct production schedules, operational requirements, staffing levels, and supervisory structures. As a consequence, the working conditions experienced by non-exempt employees — including, critically, their meal and rest break experiences and scheduling practices — are not uniform across show units. This variation is not the prod

14. AMA's studio-based show units operate in controlled production environments with relatively predictable schedules. For example, "Kitchen Clash," one of AMA's studio-based unscripted programs, is filmed at Facility 1 in West Hollywood. Production days for "Kitchen Clash" and similar studio-based shows typically run eight (8) to ten (10) hours, and production schedules are established in advance. Meal breaks are sc

15. In contrast, AMA's field-based show units operate in substantially different conditions. "Summit Challenge," AMA's flagship unscripted franchise and one of its highest-rated programs, is filmed at various outdoor locations throughout the United States, with production logistics coordinated from Facility 4 in Burbank. "Summit Challenge" generates approximately $42 million in annual revenue for AMA and is one of th

16. AMA's live events show units present yet another distinct set of operational circumstances. Live events productions — including concerts, award ceremonies, and other live broadcasts — are coordinated from Facility 4 in Burbank. These productions have unique scheduling constraints that are dictated by the fixed timing of the live event itself. The broadcast time of a live show cannot be adjusted to accommodate the

17. AMA's post-production operations present still another set of working conditions. Post-production work is conducted at Facilities 1, 5, and 7 and is office-based in nature. Employees in post-production — including editors, assistant editors, post-production coordinators, and post-production assistants — typically work regular, predictable schedules of eight (8) to ten (10) hours per day. These employees work in c

18. AMA's digital content production operations at Facility 3 in Sherman Oaks operate on a hybrid schedule that encompasses both studio-based and remote shoots. The specific scheduling of any given production day varies significantly depending on the type of content being produced. Short-form social media content — such as promotional clips, behind-the-scenes features, and platform-specific segments — may involve qui

19. AMA's operational structure is decentralized with respect to day-to-day production management. Each of AMA's fourteen (14) show units has its own designated Unit Production Manager ("UPM") or Line Producer who bears primary responsibility for the day-to-day management of that show unit's operations, including the scheduling of production activities, the allocation of crew and support staff, and the scheduling of

20. The three named plaintiffs in this action worked in different divisions of AMA, at different facilities, under different supervisors, and during partially overlapping but distinct periods of employment. Their varying roles, working conditions, and experiences illustrate the individualized nature of meal and rest break issues at AMA: (a) Marisol Fuentes was employed by AMA as a Production Coordinator in the Unscri

21. During the class period (November 1, 2018 through the present), AMA's Human Resources department received a total of fourteen (14) formal complaints from non-exempt, hourly employees in California regarding alleged meal or rest break issues. These fourteen complaints were submitted by employees working at five (5) of AMA's seven (7) California facilities and assigned to eight (8) of the Company's fourteen (14) sh

22. Upon identification of the Attestation Feature deactivation at Facilities 2, 4, and 7 in approximately November 2022, AMA undertook prompt corrective action to address the identified issues. Specifically: (a) I directed the immediate activation of the Missed Meal Attestation Feature at all three affected facilities (Facility 2 in Studio City, Facility 4 in Burbank, and Facility 7 in El Segundo). This directive wa

23. Based on the foregoing, it is my understanding that the question of whether AMA "provided" compliant meal and rest periods to its non-exempt, hourly employees during the class period cannot be answered on a class-wide basis through common proof. The answer to that question depends on a multitude of individualized factors, including: (a) the specific show unit to which the employee was assigned; (b) the specific f