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Ritz-Carlton Pasadena Accused of Working Staffers Too Hard

Where: 1401 S. Oak Knoll Avenue [map], Pasadena, CA, United States

The Ritz-Carlton Huntington in Pasadena, Calif. is the subject of a lawsuit today after two employees accused the hotel of forcing them to work through their breaks and stiffing them of overtime pay.

"They treat us like slaves," said housekeeper Elvia Alonso, 44, who has worked at the hotel for six years and is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. "They say, 'If you don't like it, you go home.'"

What's also interesting is that the hotel is owned by the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Assn., (LACERA) which manages the $38-billion pension fund of retired police officers, firefighters and other county workers who of course, are union members themselves. This makes for a sticky situation. Even more so when LACERA is looking to sell the place with a gain of more than a $100 million.

A list of some of the alleged bad treatment of staffers:

· A housekeeper repeatedly asked management to fix the broken wheels on her cart but they refused. The cart later toppled on the housekeeper, causing injury to her shoulder which later required surgery.
· The same housekeeper was denied a job in the call center because of her Spanish accent.
· Cooks said managers made derogatory comments about their ethnic backgrounds.
· Workers throughout the hotel were not allowed to take breaks.

A spokesperson for the hotel would not comment on the lawsuit but said they "all of these things seriously."