Automobile processing employees who work at the Port of San Francisco convinced a California
federal judge that they’re entitled to a higher pay rate than the minimum under the city’s prevailing
wage rules.
The Pasha Automotive Services cargo terminal where the employees work qualifies as a public
automobile storage facility under the relevant ordinance, Judge Vince Chhabria of the U.S. District
Court for the Northern District of California said Thursday.
Pasha Automotive imports, exports, and processes vehicles for automotive manufacturers through
terminals in the Ports of San Francisco, San Diego, and Grays Harbor, Wash., as a subsidiary of
global logistics company The Pasha Group.
San Francisco port employees Henry Ormeno and Miguel Rivera allege that Pasha underpaid
them in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the San Francisco prevailing wage
ordinance, which gives additional compensation protection to employees of certain companies that
maintain contracts with the city.
The employees sued in November 2019 and moved for summary judgment on the ordinance
issue. Pasha Automotive argued that the ordinance doesn’t apply to the cargo terminal’s
employees because vehicle storage is incidental to its operations there and the facility isn’t
accessible to the public.
The record shows that vehicle storage is, in fact, a substantial part of Pasha’s operations, and
that’s enough to show that it’s an “automobile storage facility” within the ordinance’s reach, the
court said. The main purpose of the facility is to store cars for shipment, which is “far more than
just a trivial aspect” of its operations.
Although there’s nothing in the ordinance or its legislative history that explicitly defines the term,
California public policy supports interpreting such ambiguities in favor of workers, the court said.
Public access to the terminal is irrelevant because the ordinance protects all employees who work
at facilities located on property owned or leased by the city, the court said.
Leonard Carder LLP represents the employees. Winston & Strawn LLP represents Pasha
Automotive.
The case is Ormeno v. Pasha Auto. Servs. , 2020 BL 92583, N.D. Cal., No. 19-cv-07258, 3/12/20
Reproduced with permission. Published 3/13/20. Copyright 2020 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033) <http://www.bloombergindustry.com>