Case Background
Emma Grimes filed a complaint against Stellar Restaurants, LLC dba Unwined Kitchen & Bar and its Chief Executive Officer, Franklin R. Kennemer, in the Superior Court of California, County of Butte, on April 21, 2022, under Case No. 22CV00822. Stellar Restaurants operated a restaurant at 980 Mangrove Ave, Chico, California, doing business as Unwined Kitchen & Bar. Employers hired Grimes in March 2021 to work as a hostess. She worked full-time as a non-exempt employee, on a fixed schedule of four days a week for approximately five hours a day, earning an hourly wage of $13.00.
Cause
Grimes brought seventeen causes of action against the Defendants, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, failure to prevent discrimination, failure to provide reasonable accommodations, violation of the Pregnancy Disability Leave Law, failure to engage in a good faith interactive process, declaratory judgment, two separate retaliation claims under Labor Code Sections 98.6 and 1102.5/1102.6, wrongful termination in violation of public policy, failure to provide rest periods, failure to provide itemized wage statements, waiting time penalties, unfair competition, a Private Attorney General Act claim, and failure to permit inspection of personnel and payroll records.
Injury
Grimes alleged that in mid-May 2021, Kennemer learned of her pregnancy through a Slack conversation she had with a co-worker. Kennemer then approached her in the backroom while she was rolling silverware and asked about her due date and when he would lose her for "mommy time." After she told him she was due to give birth on October 9, 2021, Kennemer told her he would not feel comfortable having her work once temperatures reached 100 degrees, expressing his preference that she take leave. Grimes responded that she and her doctor considered her fit to continue working and that she did not want to lose her only source of income. Kennemer then reduced her schedule from four days a week, approximately 20 hours, to one or two days a week, approximately 5 to 10 hours, cutting her pay in half. On May 25, 2021, Grimes checked the Sling scheduling application and found she had no shifts scheduled for that week. When she messaged Kennemer asking to cover a co-worker's shift, he denied her request, citing concerns about her working while pregnant. Kennemer then cut off her access to Sling and told her she would not be scheduled to work anymore because he had placed her on maternity leave and no longer had a position for her. Grimes received her final paycheck on June 11, 2021. She alleged that this conduct caused her severe emotional distress, anxiety, depression, headaches, tension, and other physical ailments, along with medical and counseling expenses and lost wages and benefits.
Damages Sought
Grimes sought compensatory damages for lost wages, earnings, commissions, benefits, and general damages for emotional distress; civil penalties of no less than $10,000 each under Labor Code Sections 98.6 and 1102.5; rest period premiums of no less than $624.00 under Labor Code Sections 226.7 and 512; damages of no less than $4,000 under Labor Code Section 226; statutory penalties of no less than $5,250 under Labor Code Section 226.3; waiting time penalties of no less than $1,560 under Labor Code Sections 201 through 203; civil penalties of no less than $9,500 under the Private Attorney General Act, Labor Code Section 2699; and penalties of $750 under Labor Code Section 1198.5. She additionally sought punitive damages under Civil Code Section 3294, declaratory and injunctive relief, and attorneys' fees and costs.
Key Arguments and Proceedings
Legal Representation
Plaintiff: Emma Grimes
· Counsel for Plaintiff: Daniel Azizi | Liliuokalani Martin | Zekiah N. Wright | Stephen J. Duron, Esq.
Defendant(s): Stellar Restaurants, LLC dba Unwined Kitchen & Bar and Franklin R. Kennemer
· Counsel for Defendants: Patricia A. Savage | Patricia A. Savage | Chris Young | Maksim Beck
Key Arguments or Remarks by Counsel
Claims
Grimes argued that Kennemer's comments about her pregnancy, followed by his unilateral reduction of her work schedule and eventual removal of her from the schedule entirely, amounted to discrimination and harassment on the basis of her gender, sex, and pregnancy under the Fair Employment and Housing Act. She argued that the Defendants never engaged in a good faith interactive process to accommodate her pregnancy-related needs and never offered her any reasonable accommodation, despite her willingness and ability to continue performing her job duties. She further argued that the Defendants violated the Pregnancy Disability Leave Law by failing to notify her of her right to protected leave and by refusing to accommodate her or transfer her to a less strenuous position at her request. Grimes also claimed that her termination constituted retaliation for complaining about unpaid wages and for asserting her right to meal and rest breaks, in violation of Labor Code Sections 98.6 and 1102.5, and that her termination violated the public policy of California. Separately, she argued that the Defendants failed to provide her with statutory ten-minute rest breaks on a recurring basis throughout her employment, failed to provide compliant itemized wage statements, paid her final wages late, and failed to permit her to inspect her personnel and payroll records after she made a written request on December 21, 2021. She sought penalties on her own behalf and on behalf of other aggrieved employees under the Private Attorney General Act, asserting that she had provided the required written notice to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency on January 4, 2022.
Defense
Stellar Restaurants filed a general denial pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Section 431.30, denying each allegation in the complaint and denying that Grimes suffered any damages as a result of any act or omission by the Defendants. The Defendants raised thirty-four affirmative defenses, including that the complaint failed to state facts sufficient to constitute a claim, that the claims were barred by the applicable statutes of limitations, unclean hands, laches, estoppel, waiver, and consent. The Defendants also asserted that their actions were taken for good cause and legitimate business reasons, that they were unaware of the conduct Grimes complained of and would have taken immediate corrective action had they known of it, and that any violation of the Labor Code or applicable wage orders, if it occurred, was made in good faith with reasonable grounds for believing no violation had taken place. The Defendants further argued, as their thirty-third and thirty-fourth affirmative defenses, that the Federal Arbitration Act and the holding in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, No. 20-1573, 2022 U.S. LEXIS 2940 (June 15, 2022), barred Grimes from pursuing representative claims on behalf of employees who had agreed to arbitrate their wage claims.
Jury Verdict
The case proceeded to a jury trial that began on July 29, 2024, in Department 6 of the Butte County Superior Court, located at 1775 Concord Avenue, Chico, California, with Hon. Stephen Benson presiding. A jury of twelve people heard testimony, received evidence, and heard arguments from counsel before deliberating and returning a special verdict.
On the claim for violation of the California Family Rights Act, the jury found that Grimes had not been eligible for family care or medical leave and did not answer any further questions on that claim.
On the rest break violations claim, the jury found that Grimes worked for Stellar Restaurants on one or more workdays for at least three and one-half hours and that she proved at least one rest break violation. The jury found that rest break violations occurred on five workdays and awarded her $65.00 in owed pay.
On the question of punitive damages, the jury found that Stellar Restaurants and Kennemer had not engaged in the conduct with malice, oppression, or fraud, and did not proceed to determine whether Kennemer acted as an officer, director, or managing agent of Stellar Restaurants or to award any punitive damages amount.
The Court, Hon. Stephen Benson presiding, signed a judgment on the special verdict dated May 19, 2025, awarding Grimes a total of $65.00 in damages against Stellar Restaurants, LLC dba Unwined Kitchen & Bar and Franklin R. Kennemer, with interest to accrue at ten percent per annum from the date of the verdict until paid, together with costs and disbursements. The Court further ordered that Grimes, as the prevailing party, was entitled to recover attorney fees and costs against the Defendants pursuant to California Labor Code Section 218.5 and Code of Civil Procedure Sections 1032 and 1033.5, to be determined according to proof through a separately filed motion for attorney fees and a memorandum of costs, as provided under California Rules of Court, Rule 3.1700, and Code of Civil Procedure Section 1033.
Court documents are available upon request at [email protected]
