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By Brian Hews
Publisher | Follow X
April 24, 2026
Just one week after Los Cerritos Community News first reported on the $8.4 million jury verdict against the City, a second lawsuit has surfaced—this time alleging wage theft, off-the-clock work, and systemic labor violations inside another City department.
Filed April 8 in Orange County Superior Court, the complaint by former Recreation Specialist Misty Torres accuses the City of failing to pay for all hours worked, denying required meal and rest breaks, and issuing inaccurate wage statements over a nearly seven-year span.
According to the filing, Torres was officially scheduled for four-hour shifts but routinely worked full-day schedules—often from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.—to keep the Tiny Tots program running, all while being capped at part-time hours.
The lawsuit claims City management knew about the extra work but imposed strict hour limits anyway, creating what the complaint describes as a “predictable and unlawful result”: either leave essential work undone or perform it off the clock.
Torres alleges she performed roughly 15 hours of unpaid work per week, including overtime, and was frequently unable to take legally compliant meal or rest breaks due to staffing shortages—at times being left alone supervising up to 24 children.
The financial exposure in the case is significant. The complaint seeks more than $48,000 in unpaid straight-time wages, over $50,000 in unpaid overtime, and nearly $40,000 combined for missed meal and rest breaks, along with penalties and attorneys’ fees.
Taken together with the Byer verdict, the new lawsuit widens the scope of concern beyond the police department and into City Hall’s broader management practices. One case involves sworn testimony that complaints were allegedly ignored. The other alleges management knowingly allowed work to go unpaid.
Different departments. Same underlying question: who’s in charge—and who’s watching?
City officials have not publicly commented on the Torres lawsuit.
As the City appeals the Byer verdict and prepares to respond to the new claims, the California Public Records Act request filed by LCCN could prove pivotal—potentially revealing whether internal complaints across departments were documented, investigated, or quietly buried.
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