SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES — CENTRAL DISTRICT
MARISOL FUENTES, DEREK HALLORAN, and YESENIA PADILLA, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated,
Plaintiffs,
v.
AURELIUS MEDIA AMERICAS INC., a Delaware corporation; and DOES 1 through 50, inclusive,
Defendants.
PRELIMINARY STATEMENT
Defendant Aurelius Media Americas Inc. ("AMA" or "Responding Party") hereby responds to Plaintiffs Marisol Fuentes, Derek Halloran, and Yesenia Padilla's ("Plaintiffs" or "Propounding Parties") First Set of Special Interrogatories (Nos. 1–45), served on February 24, 2023, pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure sections 2030.210 through 2030.310.
These responses are based upon information reasonably available to AMA at this time. AMA's investigation into the facts and circumstances underlying this litigation is ongoing, and substantial discovery remains to be completed, including but not limited to the depositions of the named Plaintiffs, the production and review of electronically stored information from the NovaPay Solutions TimeTrack Pro timekeeping system, and the compilation of payroll data spanning approximately five years. Accordingly, AMA expressly reserves the right to supplement, amend, or correct any response herein as additional information becomes available through the continuing course of discovery, further investigation, or consultation with experts.
These responses are provided without waiver of any objections, privileges, immunities, or defenses not specifically raised herein, and AMA does not waive, and expressly preserves, any right to assert additional objections in the future. The fact that AMA has responded to any particular interrogatory, in whole or in part, shall not be construed as a concession that the interrogatory is relevant to the subject matter of this action, material to any claim or defense, admissible into evidence, or proportional to the needs of this case within the meaning of California Code of Civil Procedure section 2017.020. Furthermore, no response shall be deemed an admission by AMA as to the truth of any factual assertion, characterization, or legal theory advanced by Plaintiffs in framing the interrogatories.
GENERAL OBJECTIONS
The following General Objections are applicable to each and every one of Plaintiffs' Special Interrogatories (Nos. 1–45), unless a particular General Objection is expressly withdrawn with respect to a specific interrogatory. These General Objections are made in addition to, and without limitation of, any specific objections set forth in response to individual interrogatories below. The assertion of a specific objection to a particular interrogatory does not constitute a waiver of any General Objection with respect to that interrogatory.
1. Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product. AMA objects to each interrogatory to the extent it calls for information protected by the attorney-client privilege, the work product doctrine (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2018.030), the joint defense privilege, or any other applicable privilege, immunity, or protection from disclosure recognized under California or federal law. No information subject to such protections will be disclosed, and any inadvertent disclosure of privileged or protected information shall not constitute a waiver of any applicable privilege or protection.
2. Overbreadth and Undue Burden. AMA objects to each interrogatory to the extent it is overbroad in scope, unduly burdensome, oppressive, or seeks information that is not proportional to the needs of the case, considering the importance of the issues at stake, the amount in controversy, the parties' relative access to relevant information, the parties' resources, the importance of discovery in resolving the issues, and whether the burden or expense of the proposed discovery outweighs its likely benefit, within the meaning of California Code of Civil Procedure section 2017.020.
3. Vagueness and Ambiguity. AMA objects to each interrogatory to the extent that it contains terms, phrases, or instructions that are vague, ambiguous, unintelligible, or otherwise susceptible to multiple reasonable interpretations. Where AMA has responded to an interrogatory notwithstanding this objection, AMA has done so based upon its reasonable interpretation of the interrogatory, and such response does not constitute an agreement with or adoption of Plaintiffs' interpretation.
4. Compound, Conjunctive, and Disjunctive Interrogatories. AMA objects to each interrogatory that is compound, conjunctive, or disjunctive in nature, to the extent that such interrogatory exceeds the scope of a single interrogatory under California Code of Civil Procedure section 2030.060(f). AMA reserves the right to treat compound interrogatories as multiple interrogatories for purposes of the statutory limit.
5. Premature Class-Wide discovery. AMA objects to each interrogatory that seeks information about the experiences, claims, or circumstances of putative class members other than the named Plaintiffs, or that seeks class-wide data, on the ground that class certification has not been granted in this action, and such discovery is premature, disproportionate to the needs of the case at this stage of the proceedings, and calculated to impose undue burden and expense on AMA. AMA acknowledges that some pre-certification discovery may be appropriate to inform the class certification analysis, and has responded to certain interrogatories accordingly, but reserves the right to object to the scope and timing of further class-wide discovery.
6. Equally Available Information. AMA objects to each interrogatory to the extent it seeks information that is equally available to Plaintiffs through their own files, records, and recollections, through publicly available sources, or through third-party discovery that Plaintiffs can conduct directly.
7. Trade Secrets and Confidential Business Information. AMA objects to each interrogatory to the extent it calls for disclosure of trade secrets, proprietary business information, confidential financial data, or other competitively sensitive information. To the extent AMA produces or discloses any such information in response to these interrogatories, such production or disclosure shall be subject to and governed by the Stipulated Protective Order entered in this action by the Court on February 15, 2023 (the "Protective Order"), and AMA reserves all rights under the Protective Order with respect to any such information.
8. Incorporation by Reference. These General Objections are incorporated by reference into each and every specific response set forth below, as though fully restated therein. Where a specific response states that it is made "subject to and without waiving the foregoing objections" or words to similar effect, such statement is intended to preserve all General Objections and any specific objections set forth in the response.
RESPONSES TO SPECIAL INTERROGATORIES
INTERROGATORY NO. 1:
Identify all entities that owned, operated, managed, or controlled AURELIUS MEDIA AMERICAS INC. at any time during the Class Period (November 1, 2018 through present), including each entity's full legal name, state or country of organization, principal place of business, and relationship to AURELIUS MEDIA AMERICAS INC.
OBJECTIONS:
AMA incorporates by reference each of the General Objections set forth above. AMA further objects to this interrogatory on the ground that it is overbroad to the extent it seeks information about entities other than AMA's direct parent company or entities that exercised direct operational control over AMA. The term "controlled" is vague and ambiguous to the extent it could encompass indirect or passive investment relationships that have no bearing on the claims or defenses in this action. AMA further objects that the request for information about entities that "managed" AMA is overbroad and vague, as management services may be provided by third-party contractors in limited capacities without rising to the level of "ownership" or "control" relevant to this litigation.
RESPONSE:
Subject to and without waiving the foregoing objections, AMA responds as follows:
AMA is a Delaware corporation, incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware, with Delaware Division of Corporations File Number 5284731. AMA is qualified to do business in the State of California and maintains its principal office at 8500 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 1400, West Hollywood, California 90069. AMA's Employer Identification Number is 83-2194067. AMA's designated agent for service of process in California is Pacific Statutory Agents Inc., located at 2901 W. Alameda Avenue, Suite 200, Burbank, California 91505.
AMA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aurelius Global Media Group PLC ("AGMG"), a public limited company organized under the laws of England and Wales, registered with Companies House under Company Number 08412667, and headquartered at 34 Kingsway, London WC2B 6EX, United Kingdom. AGMG is a publicly traded company listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "AGMG." AGMG is AMA's sole shareholder and direct parent entity.
AMA's President is Jonathan Mercer, who reports to AGMG's Chief Executive Officer. No entity other than AGMG owned or operated AMA during the Class Period. AMA operated as an independent subsidiary with its own management team, human resources department, legal and compliance department, and payroll functions throughout the Class Period. AMA reserves the right to supplement this response if further investigation reveals additional responsive information.
INTERROGATORY NO. 2:
State the total number of non-exempt, hourly employees employed by AURELIUS MEDIA AMERICAS INC. in the State of California at any time during the Class Period (November 1, 2018 through present), broken down by calendar year.
OBJECTIONS:
AMA incorporates by reference each of the General Objections set forth above. AMA further objects to this interrogatory on the ground that it is unduly burdensome in that it requires the compilation, extraction, and reconciliation of employment data from multiple human resources and payroll systems spanning approximately five years, including data maintained in the legacy payroll system that was in use prior to the January 1, 2019 transition to the NovaPay Solutions TimeTrack Pro system. AMA further objects to the extent this interrogatory seeks premature class-wide information prior to class certification.
RESPONSE:
Subject to and without waiving the foregoing objections, AMA responds as follows:
Based on the information reasonably available to AMA at this time, AMA estimates that approximately 1,850 non-exempt, hourly employees worked at AMA's California facilities at some point during the Class Period (November 1, 2018 through the date of these responses). This figure includes employees who were hired and separated during the Class Period, as well as employees who worked during only a portion of the Class Period. This figure does not include exempt employees, independent contractors, temporary agency employees, or employees who worked exclusively outside of California.
As of November 1, 2022, AMA employed approximately 3,200 employees in the United States, of whom approximately 2,400 were based in California. Of the approximately 2,400 California-based employees, approximately 1,620 were classified as non-exempt, hourly employees.
AMA is in the process of compiling year-by-year breakdowns of non-exempt, hourly employee headcounts from its human resources information system and the NovaPay Solutions payroll database. This compilation requires reconciliation of data from the legacy payroll system (used prior to January 1, 2019) with data from the current TimeTrack Pro system. AMA will supplement this response when that compilation is complete.
INTERROGATORY NO. 3:
Identify all California facilities at which non-exempt, hourly employees performed work for AURELIUS MEDIA AMERICAS INC. at any time during the Class Period, including the street address, primary function, and approximate number of non-exempt employees at each facility.
OBJECTIONS:
AMA incorporates by reference each of the General Objections set forth above.
RESPONSE:
Subject to and without waiving the foregoing objections, AMA responds as follows:
During the Class Period, AMA operated seven production facilities in the State of California at which non-exempt, hourly employees performed work. These facilities are identified below:
1. Facility 1 — 8500 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 1400, West Hollywood, California 90069. This facility serves as AMA's corporate headquarters and primary post-production facility, housing executive offices, human resources, legal and compliance, finance, and post-production editorial suites.
2. Facility 2 — 4024 Penmark Strategy Partners Avenue, Studio City, California 91604. This facility houses Stage A and Stage B and serves as the primary production facility for AMA's unscripted programming division. Studio-based productions, including taping of competition and reality programming, are conducted at this facility.
3. Facility 3 — 15301 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 300, Sherman Oaks, California 91403. This facility serves as the production office and editing facility for AMA's digital content production division, which produces short-form content for streaming platforms and social media distribution.
4. Facility 4 — 3800 W. Alameda Avenue, Burbank, California 91505. This facility serves as the coordination center for AMA's live events and field production operations, including remote broadcast coordination, event logistics, and field production support.
5. Facility 5 — 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, California 90028. This facility houses AMA's scripted development division, including writers' rooms, development offices, and a small post-production suite used for scripted pilot editing.
6. Facility 6 — 2120 Colorado Avenue, Santa Monica, California 90404. This facility serves as AMA's e-commerce studio, used for product integration content, branded entertainment production, and commercial content creation.
7. Facility 7 — 888 N. Sepulveda Boulevard, El Segundo, California 90245. This facility serves as a post-production annex, providing overflow editing and finishing capacity for projects originated at Facilities 1 and 5.
Non-exempt, hourly employees were assigned to one or more of these facilities during the Class Period, depending on their job title, divisional assignment, and production schedule. Certain employees, particularly Field Coordinators and Production Assistants assigned to field production units, may have worked at multiple facilities or at off-site locations during the Class Period. Approximate employee counts for each facility are being compiled from AMA's human resources records and will be supplemented.
INTERROGATORY NO. 4:
Identify all "show units" or production units that AURELIUS MEDIA AMERICAS INC. operated at any time during the Class Period, including for each such unit: (a) the name of the unit; (b) the facility at which it was based; (c) the approximate dates of operation; and (d) the approximate number of non-exempt, hourly employees assigned to the unit.
OBJECTIONS:
AMA incorporates by reference each of the General Objections set forth above. AMA further objects to this interrogatory on the ground that it is unduly burdensome in that it requires the identification and compilation of information about all production units operated during an approximately five-year period. AMA further objects that the term "show unit" is vague and ambiguous, as AMA's organizational structure is complex and production units were created, combined, reorganized, and discontinued during the Class Period in the ordinary course of AMA's production operations. AMA further objects to this interrogatory as compound in that it seeks four separate categories of information for each show unit identified.
RESPONSE:
Subject to and without waiving the foregoing objections, AMA responds as follows:
AMA operated approximately fourteen (14) distinct production units (referred to internally as "show units") across its seven California facilities during the Class Period. AMA's production operations are organized under IWC Wage Order No. 12-2001 (Motion Picture Industry), and each show unit is headed by a Unit Production Manager ("UPM") or Line Producer who is responsible for day-to-day management of the unit, including scheduling, staffing, budgeting, and the scheduling of meal and rest breaks for non-exempt production employees assigned to the unit.
The show units include studio-based productions (such as the unscripted competition series "Kitchen Clash," produced at Facility 2 in Studio City), field-based productions (such as the adventure competition series "Summit Challenge," coordinated from Facility 4 in Burbank), live events productions (also coordinated from Facility 4), post-production operations (conducted at Facilities 1, 5, and 7), and digital content production operations (conducted at Facility 3 in Sherman Oaks).
The number of show units operating at any given time during the Class Period fluctuated based on AMA's production slate, network and platform orders, and seasonal production cycles. Certain show units operated continuously throughout the Class Period, while others were created for a single production season and then wrapped or combined with other units. The number of non-exempt, hourly employees assigned to each show unit varied based on the scale and phase of production (development, pre-production, production, and post-production).
AMA will provide a supplemental response identifying each show unit by name, facility assignment, approximate dates of operation, and approximate headcount of non-exempt employees upon completion of its data compilation.
INTERROGATORY NO. 5:
Identify all job titles held by non-exempt, hourly employees of AURELIUS MEDIA AMERICAS INC. in California at any time during the Class Period.
OBJECTIONS:
AMA incorporates by reference each of the General Objections set forth above.
RESPONSE:
Subject to and without waiving the foregoing objections, AMA responds as follows:
Non-exempt, hourly job titles at AMA during the Class Period included, but were not limited to, the following:
• Production Coordinator
• Post-Production Assistant
• Segment Coordinator
• Production Assistant
• Associate Producer (non-exempt classification)
• Field Coordinator
• Graphics Coordinator
• Logging/Transcription Specialist
• Studio Technician
• Wardrobe Assistant
• Set Dresser Assistant
• Camera Assistant
• Audio Assistant
• Craft Services Coordinator
This list represents the principal non-exempt job titles maintained by AMA during the Class Period. Certain employees may have held multiple job titles during the Class Period due to promotions, lateral transfers, or reassignment between show units. AMA is in the process of compiling a comprehensive list of all non-exempt job titles from its human resources information system and will produce a supplemental response when that compilation is complete.
INTERROGATORY NO. 6:
Describe in detail the criteria and process by which AURELIUS MEDIA AMERICAS INC. classified employees as exempt or non-exempt during the Class Period, including the identity and title of each person involved in making classification decisions.
OBJECTIONS:
AMA incorporates by reference each of the General Objections set forth above. AMA further objects to this interrogatory to the extent it is overbroad in seeking information about exempt employees who are not within the putative class definition and whose classification is not at issue in this action. AMA further objects to the extent this interrogatory calls for legal conclusions regarding the criteria for exempt and non-exempt classification under California law.
RESPONSE:
Subject to and without waiving the foregoing objections, AMA responds as follows:
AMA classifies employees as exempt or non-exempt in accordance with applicable California law, including California Labor Code section 515 and the applicable IWC Wage Orders (principally Wage Order No. 12-2001 for AMA's production employees). Classification decisions are made by AMA's Human Resources department, under the direction of the Senior Vice President of Human Resources (currently Lorraine Okafor, who assumed the SVP HR role in June 2019), in consultation with AMA's Legal & Compliance department (currently led by Vice President Gregory Tanaka, who has held the VP Legal & Compliance position throughout the Class Period).
The classification process involves a review of the employee's actual job duties as described in the applicable job description and as confirmed by the hiring manager or UPM, the employee's salary level as compared to the applicable minimum salary threshold for exempt classification under California law, and the applicable exemption criteria (including the administrative, executive, professional, and creative professional exemptions, as well as the motion picture industry exemptions under Wage Order 12). Classification decisions are documented in AMA's human resources information system and reflected in the employee's offer letter and personnel file.
All employees within the putative class definition in this action — non-exempt, hourly employees — were classified as non-exempt by AMA and were compensated on an hourly basis. AMA's classification of these employees as non-exempt is not in dispute.
INTERROGATORY NO. 7:
Identify all persons who were responsible for setting, implementing, and/or enforcing AURELIUS MEDIA AMERICAS INC.'s meal and rest break policies at any time during the Class Period, including their titles and periods of responsibility.
OBJECTIONS:
AMA incorporates by reference each of the General Objections set forth above.
RESPONSE:
Subject to and without waiving the foregoing objections, AMA responds as follows:
The following individuals had responsibility for setting, implementing, and/or enforcing AMA's meal and rest break policies during the Class Period:
• Lorraine Okafor, Senior Vice President of Human Resources (June 2019 – present). Ms. Okafor is responsible for overall policy development, revision, and human resources oversight, including the development and maintenance of AMA's written Meal and Rest Break Policy and the Employee Handbook provisions related to meal and rest periods.
• Gregory Tanaka, Vice President of Legal & Compliance (position held throughout the Class Period). Mr. Tanaka is responsible for legal compliance review of AMA's wage-and-hour policies, including review of meal and rest break policies for compliance with applicable California law and IWC Wage Orders.
• Celine Arroyo, Director of Production Operations (position held throughout the Class Period). Ms. Arroyo is responsible for implementation of AMA's meal and rest break policies at AMA's production facilities, including coordination with UPMs and Line Producers regarding scheduling protocols.
• Karen Fong, Payroll Manager (position held throughout the Class Period). Ms. Fong is responsible for timekeeping system configuration, payroll processing, and administration of the NovaPay Solutions TimeTrack Pro system, including configuration of the auto-deduction feature and the Missed Meal Attestation feature.
• Individual Unit Production Managers and Line Producers at each of AMA's approximately fourteen (14) show units were responsible for day-to-day scheduling of meal and rest breaks at the show-unit level. The identities of these individuals will be provided in a supplemental response.
• Ms. Okafor's predecessor in the SVP Human Resources role held responsibility for overall policy development during the period from November 2018 through approximately June 2019. AMA is in the process of confirming the identity of this individual through its HR records and will supplement this response accordingly.
INTERROGATORY NO. 8:
Identify all persons who have knowledge of facts relevant to the claims or defenses in this action, including their current title and contact information.
OBJECTIONS:
AMA incorporates by reference each of the General Objections set forth above. AMA further objects to this interrogatory on the ground that it is overbroad and unduly burdensome, as it potentially encompasses thousands of current and former non-exempt employees who may have some knowledge of meal period, rest period, or timekeeping practices at AMA, as well as numerous current and former supervisors, managers, human resources personnel, and payroll personnel. AMA further objects that this interrogatory is premature, as AMA's investigation is ongoing and additional witnesses are likely to be identified through the course of discovery.
RESPONSE:
Subject to and without waiving the foregoing objections, AMA responds as follows:
Without limitation, the following persons are believed to have knowledge of facts relevant to the claims or defenses in this action:
• Jonathan Mercer, President, Aurelius Media Americas Inc.
• Lorraine Okafor, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Aurelius Media Americas Inc.
• Gregory Tanaka, Vice President of Legal & Compliance, Aurelius Media Americas Inc.
• Celine Arroyo, Director of Production Operations, Aurelius Media Americas Inc.
• Karen Fong, Payroll Manager, Aurelius Media Americas Inc.
• Dwayne Prescott, Vice President of Unscripted Programming, Aurelius Media Americas Inc.
• Marcus Yee, Director of Client Data Services, NovaPay Solutions Inc., 2200 Powell Street, Suite 600, Emeryville, California 94608.
• Marisol Fuentes, Named Plaintiff.
• Derek Halloran, Named Plaintiff.
• Yesenia Padilla, Named Plaintiff.
• Individual Unit Production Managers and direct supervisors at each of AMA's approximately fourteen (14) show units, whose identities will be supplemented.
The foregoing AMA employees can be contacted through counsel of record for AMA. AMA reserves the right to identify additional persons who may have knowledge of relevant facts as discovery continues, including through the deposition process, document review, and further investigation. The identification of any individual herein does not constitute a representation regarding the nature, scope, or admissibility of any information such individual may possess.
INTERROGATORY NO. 9:
State whether AURELIUS MEDIA AMERICAS INC. contends that any arbitration agreement applies to any putative class member's claims in this action, and if so, identify the arbitration agreement, the class members who are subject to the agreement, and the specific provisions that AURELIUS MEDIA AMERICAS INC. contends apply.
OBJECTIONS:
AMA incorporates by reference each of the General Objections set forth above.
RESPONSE:
Subject to and without waiving the foregoing objections, AMA responds as follows:
Based on its review of available records to date, AMA does not contend that the named Plaintiffs or putative class members are subject to an arbitration agreement containing a class action waiver or a waiver of the right to bring representative claims under the Private Attorneys General Act ("PAGA") that would bar the claims asserted in this action. AMA notes that its standard employment offer letters during portions of the Class Period included an acknowledgment of AMA's dispute resolution policy, but AMA has not identified an enforceable arbitration agreement with a class action or PAGA waiver applicable to the claims at issue.
AMA reserves the right to supplement this response if, during the course of further investigation and document review, arbitration agreements with applicable class action or PAGA waivers are identified that pertain to any named Plaintiff or putative class member.
INTERROGATORY NO. 10:
Identify all insurance policies under which any insurer may be liable to satisfy part or all of any judgment or settlement that may be entered in this action, including the name of the insurer, the policy number, the type of coverage, the policy limits, and the amount of any deductible or self-insured retention.
OBJECTIONS:
AMA incorporates by reference each of the General Objections set forth above.
RESPONSE:
Subject to and without waiving the foregoing objections, AMA responds as follows:
AMA maintains the following insurance policies that may provide coverage for part or all of any judgment or settlement that may be entered in this action:
1. Employment Practices Liability Policy: Issued by Pemberton Mutual Assurance Co., Policy No. PMA-EPL-2022-00837, with a self-insured retention of $5,000,000 and an aggregate policy limit of $15,000,000.
2. Directors' and Officers' Liability Policy (Primary Layer): Issued by Redcliffe Specialty Insurance Ltd., Policy No. RSI-DO-2022-04419, with a policy limit of $10,000,000.
3. Directors' and Officers' Liability Policy (Excess Layer): Issued by Ashford Re Ltd., Policy No. ARL-EX-2022-01102, with a policy limit of $25,000,000.
AMA tendered the claims asserted in this action to Pemberton Mutual Assurance Co. on November 8, 2022, promptly following the filing of the Fuentes Complaint. Pemberton acknowledged coverage under the EPL Policy, subject to a reservation of rights, by letter dated December 22, 2022. Notice of the claims was also provided to Redcliffe Specialty Insurance Ltd. on November 8, 2022, on a precautionary basis. AMA's insurance broker is Kestrel Risk Advisors Ltd., located at One Broadgate, London EC2M 2QS, United Kingdom (contact: Samuel Okonkwo, Managing Director).
AMA reserves the right to supplement this response if additional potentially responsive insurance policies are identified.
INTERROGATORY NO. 11:
Identify and describe all meal period policies maintained by AURELIUS MEDIA AMERICAS INC. that were in effect at any time during the Class Period, including the effective date of each policy and any amendments thereto.
OBJECTIONS:
AMA incorporates by reference each of the General Objections set forth above.
RESPONSE:
Subject to and without waiving the foregoing objections, AMA responds as follows:
AMA maintained a written Meal and Rest Break Policy throughout the Class Period. The current version of the Meal and Rest Break Policy was revised and became effective on January 1, 2019, in connection with AMA's transition from its legacy manual paper timesheet system to the NovaPay Solutions TimeTrack Pro electronic timekeeping system. The January 1, 2019 revision updated the policy to reference the new timekeeping system and the procedures for reporting missed meal and rest periods through the TimeTrack Pro system.
Prior to January 1, 2019, AMA maintained a predecessor meal period policy that was in effect during the initial portion of the Class Period (November 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018). The exact effective date of the predecessor policy and any amendments to that policy are being confirmed through review of AMA's archived human resources files.
AMA's meal period policy is also set forth in AMA's Employee Handbook, which was most recently revised in March 2021. The Employee Handbook addresses meal and rest periods in the following sections: Section 4.3 (Meal Periods), Section 4.4 (Rest Periods), and Section 4.7 (Timekeeping Procedures). The March 2021 revision to the Employee Handbook involved minor formatting and stylistic changes to the meal and rest period sections; the substantive provisions regarding the duration, timing, and duty-free nature of meal periods were not materially altered in the March 2021 revision.
Copies of all versions of the Meal and Rest Break Policy and the Employee Handbook in effect during the Class Period have been produced, or will be produced, in response to Plaintiffs' First Set of Requests for Production of Documents, Set One.
INTERROGATORY NO. 12:
Describe in detail AURELIUS MEDIA AMERICAS INC.'s meal period policy as applied to non-exempt, hourly employees during the Class Period, including, without limitation, the duration, timing, duty-free nature, and any conditions or exceptions to the policy.
OBJECTIONS:
AMA incorporates by reference each of the General Objections set forth above.
RESPONSE:
Subject to and without waiving the foregoing objections, AMA responds as follows:
AMA's meal period policy, as set forth in the Meal and Rest Break Policy and Section 4.3 of the Employee Handbook, provides that all non-exempt employees are entitled to a thirty (30) minute, uninterrupted, duty-free meal period for any work shift exceeding five (5) hours, consistent with California Labor Code section 512(a) and IWC Wage Order No. 12-2001, Section 11. A second thirty (30) minute, uninterrupted, duty-free meal period is provided for any work shift exceeding ten (10) hours. The policy further provides that the first meal period must begin no later than the end of the employee's fifth hour of work, and the second meal period must begin no later than the end of the employee's tenth hour of work.
During meal periods, employees are relieved of all duties and are free to leave the employer's premises. Employees are not required to remain on-site, and no work tasks are to be assigned or performed during meal periods. The policy instructs all non-exempt employees to notify their immediate supervisor promptly if, for any reason, they are unable to take a timely, uninterrupted, duty-free meal period as provided by the policy.
The policy further provides that employees may waive the first meal period if their work shift will be completed in six (6) hours or less, and may waive the second meal period if their work shift will not exceed twelve (12) hours and the first meal period was not waived, in each case by mutual consent consistent with California Labor Code section 512(a).
AMA's policy does not authorize managers or supervisors to require, encourage, or permit employees to skip, shorten, or work through meal periods except as provided above.
INTERROGATORY NO. 13:
Describe in detail the timekeeping system or systems used by AURELIUS MEDIA AMERICAS INC. during the Class Period to record the hours of non-exempt, hourly employees, including the identity and vendor of each system, the date each system was implemented, and all features of each system related to the recording of meal periods.
OBJECTIONS:
AMA incorporates by reference each of the General Objections set forth above.
RESPONSE:
Subject to and without waiving the foregoing objections, AMA responds as follows:
Since January 1, 2019, AMA has utilized the "TimeTrack Pro" electronic timekeeping system, developed and maintained by NovaPay Solutions Inc. NovaPay Solutions Inc. is a payroll and timekeeping services provider located at 2200 Powell Street, Suite 600, Emeryville, California 94608. The primary contact at NovaPay Solutions with knowledge of AMA's TimeTrack Pro configuration is Marcus Yee, Director of Client Data Services.
Prior to January 1, 2019, AMA utilized a manual paper timesheet system for recording the hours of non-exempt, hourly employees. Under the legacy paper timesheet system, employees recorded their start time, end time, and meal period start and end times on paper timesheets, which were submitted to their supervisors for review and approval and then forwarded to the Payroll department for processing. The legacy paper timesheet system did not include an automatic deduction feature for meal periods.
The TimeTrack Pro system records employee clock-in and clock-out times via electronic time clock terminals located at each of AMA's seven California production facilities. Employees clock in at the beginning of their work shift and clock out at the end of their work shift using either a proximity badge or a personal identification number (PIN). The TimeTrack Pro system includes several features related to the recording of meal periods, including an automatic meal period deduction feature ("auto-deduction") and a "Missed Meal Attestation" feature, both of which are described in detail in AMA's responses to Interrogatory Nos. 14, 15, and 16, below.
INTERROGATORY NO. 14:
Describe in detail any automatic deduction or rounding practice applied by AURELIUS MEDIA AMERICAS INC.'s timekeeping system to the recorded hours of non-exempt, hourly employees for meal periods, including the amount of the deduction, the conditions under which the deduction is applied, the date the practice was first implemented, and any modifications to the practice during the Class Period.
OBJECTIONS:
AMA incorporates by reference each of the General Objections set forth above.
RESPONSE:
Subject to and without waiving the foregoing objections, AMA responds as follows:
The TimeTrack Pro system includes an automatic meal period deduction feature ("auto-deduction") that was configured and activated on January 1, 2019, the date AMA transitioned to the TimeTrack Pro system. The auto-deduction feature was configured to automatically deduct thirty (30) minutes from an employee's recorded hours for shifts of six (6) hours or more. The deduction is applied at the sixth hour of the employee's recorded shift — that is, when the system calculates that the employee has been clocked in for six (6) continuous hours, the system automatically deducts 0.5 hours from the employee's total recorded hours for that shift.
AMA acknowledges that the six (6) hour activation threshold for the auto-deduction feature was inconsistent with the five (5) hour threshold required by IWC Wage Order No. 12-2001, Section 11, and California Labor Code section 512(a), which applies to AMA's production employees. The auto-deduction should have been configured to activate at five (5) hours rather than six (6) hours, to align with the statutory meal period trigger applicable to AMA's non-exempt workforce. AMA corrected this threshold from six (6) hours to five (5) hours in December 2022, following AMA's internal review prompted by the filing of this action.
The auto-deduction feature does not apply a second automatic deduction for shifts exceeding ten (10) hours. For second meal periods, employees were expected to manually adjust their time entries to reflect the second meal period, or to report to their supervisors if a second meal period was not received.
The auto-deduction was applied uniformly across all seven of AMA's California facilities and to all non-exempt, hourly employees who used the TimeTrack Pro system. The auto-deduction was not applied under the legacy paper timesheet system, which was in use prior to January 1, 2019.
AMA did not apply any rounding practice to the recorded hours of non-exempt employees during the Class Period.
INTERROGATORY NO. 15:
Describe any mechanism, feature, or procedure by which employees of AURELIUS MEDIA AMERICAS INC. could report a missed, shortened, or interrupted meal period, and, if applicable, override the automatic deduction described in response to Interrogatory No. 14.
OBJECTIONS:
AMA incorporates by reference each of the General Objections set forth above.
RESPONSE:
Subject to and without waiving the foregoing objections, AMA responds as follows:
The TimeTrack Pro system includes a "Missed Meal Attestation" feature that provides a mechanism for employees to report a missed, shortened, or interrupted meal period directly through the electronic time clock terminal at their facility. When an employee activates the Missed Meal Attestation feature — by selecting the applicable option on the time clock terminal — the system performs the following functions:
First, the system overrides the automatic meal period deduction for that shift and adds thirty (30) minutes back to the employee's total recorded hours for the shift, so that the employee is compensated for the time that would otherwise have been automatically deducted.
Second, the system triggers an automatic one-hour meal period premium payment in the employee's next pay cycle, calculated at the employee's regular rate of pay, consistent with California Labor Code section 226.7.
The Missed Meal Attestation feature was intended to provide a timely, employee-initiated mechanism for reporting missed meal periods and ensuring that employees received both the restoration of the deducted time and the applicable premium pay without the need for manual intervention by supervisors or the Payroll department.
In addition to the Missed Meal Attestation feature, AMA's written Meal and Rest Break Policy instructs employees to notify their immediate supervisor if they are unable to take a meal period for any reason. Upon receiving such a notification, supervisors were expected to report the missed meal period to the Payroll department for manual processing of the premium payment.