A former broadcast and audio technician for Apple Music in Culver City has agreed to have an arbitrator and not a jury hear her claims that she was wrongfully fired in 2021 for complaining about being denied meal and rest breaks.
Sandra Banuelos brought her Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit on Feb. 10, alleging 12 causes of action, including wrongful termination, failure to provide meal and rest periods and retaliation, while seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
However, the attorneys in the case filed joint papers with Judge Randolph Hammock on Friday stating the parties have agreed to binding arbitration of the dispute and have selected an arbitrator. Hammock ordered the parties to enter arbitration, placed a stay on the lawsuit pending the outcome and scheduled a status conference for June 12, 2024.
Apple Music is part of a broad range of digital content services offered by Apple and is an audio and video streaming service through which users can stream content on their devices. Pro Unlimited, an integrated workforce management platform provider also named as a defendant, offers workforce management services to its corporate clients, allowing them to procure and select employees.
Banuelos was hired by the defendants in February 2020 and her primary duties involved loading songs on a computer system to play on air for Apple Music radio stations, along with monitoring the stations to ensure that songs were properly playing, the suit states. Banuelos also was assigned to compile lists for her manager at the end of her shifts, detailing the songs that were played as well as any issues she encountered.
Banuelos never received mandatory 10-minute rest breaks for every four hours she worked, nor was she given uninterrupted 30-minute meal breaks, according to the suit. She worked three to four days weekly and was paid $42.50 per hour but she was not reimbursed for the use of her personal cell phone, which she used to check for updates prior to commencing her shifts, the suit claims.
Banuelos also was required to answer phone calls during non-work hours, the suit states. She complained to her supervisor about the issues with her meal and rest breaks and he allegedly told her that if her break was scheduled, she could take it and leave the studio.
“However, in the event plaintiff left the studio alone, she was called in and reprimanded for doing so,” in effect compelling her to remain at the facility, the suit states.
In November 2021, a station Banuelos was overseeing went off the air for a minute due to a computer glitch completely out of her control, but she was able to put the radio shows back on quickly, the suit states. She reported the problem and was not given a written reprimand, according to the suit.
However, when Banuelos later that month again raised concerns regarding her meal and rest breaks, she was fired and told it was because of the off-air incident earlier in the month, according to the suit, which further states that management’s explanation for why she lost her job “was clear pretext as the off-air incident was not treated as punishable offense when it happened.”
Banuelos continues to deal with substantial losses in earnings and other benefits, her ability to obtain equivalent employment and wages has been diminished and she also has incurred “great mental pain and suffering,” according to the suit.