Settlement Reached in Proposed Class Action Labor Suit Against Subway Franchise Cashier

A settlement has been reached in the lawsuit filed by Deisy Villalta, a longstanding Subway franchise cashier, against Lacren LLC and other entities operating 26 Subway franchise locations. The lawsuit alleged that Villalta and other workers were being denied compensation for meal and rest breaks, overtime, and business expenses.

The court papers, filed by Villalta’s attorneys, notified the Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maren on Friday about the accord. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Villalta, who has been working as a cashier since 2011 at a Los Angeles location on West Slauson Avenue, originally filed the lawsuit as a proposed class-action. The class consisted of non-exempt franchise employees who had been employed by the entities within the four years leading up to the filing on March 29. On June 27, the judge denied a later request by Villalta’s lawyers to drop the class-wide claims and those brought under the California Private Attorney General Act of 2004.

The suit described Villalta’s and other workers’ duties, which included tasks such as opening and closing the kitchen, handling cash transactions, preparing food, cleaning, and taking out the trash. The suit alleged that understaffed shifts and sudden customer influxes often prevented workers from taking timely rest breaks or caused them to miss breaks entirely.

Villalta was also required to work outside her shifts, deliver supplies to different locations, and provide store keys to employees. These additional responsibilities were outlined in the lawsuit.

The suit further claimed that the workers were not paid the correct amount of overtime and were not fully reimbursed for their business expenses. Villalta also alleged that she had not received her share of customer credit card tips since November 2020.