A former recycling employee is suing the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission in a lawsuit that claims the agency failed to pay minimum wages and overtime compensation, failed to provide meal periods and rest breaks, and failed to pay him for business expenses.

The complaint by plaintiff Cameron Young was filed in October as a class action lawsuit in Fresno County Superior Court and seeks a trial by jury.

The Fresno EOC, one of the nation’s oldest Community Action Agencies, has more than 30 programs that include Head Start, School of Unlimited Learning, Local Conservation Corps, food services, Women Infant and Children, and energy services. The Local Conservation Corps has operated a recycling center since 1993.

The suit alleges that Young was employed as a recycler from August 2022 to August 2024, working a five-day workweek and typically more than eight hours daily. On occasion, Young and other employees had to respond to requests from supervisors during meal breaks but were not compensated for the interruptions, the suit says.

Wage, Hour Violations Alleged

Young’s lawsuit alleges that the employees were not notified by their supervisors that they were entitled by state law to a 10-minute rest break after four hours of work and a meal break after five hours and were not compensated when they worked past those time limits.

Fresno EOC did not compensate the employees when they had to use their cell phones for work-related tasks or to buy work boots.

It also failed to furnish accurate, itemized wage statements, leading the employees to falsely believe they had been paid minimum, overtime, rest period and meal break wages when they had not been, and also leading them to falsely believe they were not entitled to such wages, the suit says. The result will impact their wage records with Social Security for future benefits.

The suit also alleges that Fresno EOC did not pay Young and others their final wages within 72 hours of their employment’s termination as required by state law.

The agency also failed to keep adequate time records for employees, which will complicate efforts to determine how much is owed to the plaintiffs, the suit says.

A case management conference is scheduled before Judge Jeffrey Hamilton Jr. on March 4.

Earlier Labor Lawsuits

The lawsuit is the latest of several filed by former Fresno EOC employees. Christina Acosta and Isabel Ramirez, former family service specialists, were fired in 2021 and filed suit the next year. Acosta, a Fresno EOC employee since 1975, had claimed wrongful termination, age discrimination, failure to issue accurate, itemized wage statements, failure to pay minimum and overtime wages, and failure to provide meal and rest periods. Her suit went to mediation and was dismissed with prejudice in November 2023, which means she can’t refile.

Ramirez had claimed age and disability discrimination, retaliation, failure to prevent harassment, wrongful termination, and failure to pay minimum and overtime wages and to provide meal and rest breaks. The suit was settled in January and dismissed with prejudice in May.

A third suit filed in April also claims that the agency failed to pay wages, provide meal and rest breaks, and furnish itemized wage statements. Gloria Ordonez had been employed as a physical compliant assistant from 2010 to November 2021. The lawsuit went to mediation in August and was dismissed without prejudice in September, meaning she would be able refile the lawsuit.

Changes at Fresno EOC

Fresno EOC appears to be struggling financially. A December report on finances through September showed a $3.3 million deficit of expenditures to revenues. According to the report, the deficit was primarily because of an inability to renegotiate multi-year agreements for Food Services and the Local Conservation Corps to cover rising costs of transportation, utilities, and goods and foods.

The Fresno EOC is in the midst of a leadership shake-up. Chief Operating Officer Michelle Tutunjian has been named the acting chief executive officer.

Related Story: Leadership Shake-Up at Fresno EOC? New Acting CEO Named

The private, nonprofit agency was created during President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. The goal of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 was to obtain equality of opportunity in education, employment, health, and living conditions for every American. Fresno EOC was one of 900 Community Action Agencies created through the act and was founded in 1965. The agency serves more than 100,000 Fresno County residents annually.

The agency employs nearly 1,100 full- and part-time staffers and has an annual budget of $134 million.

Class Action Lawsuit