Radiopharmacy Staff File Class Action, Saying Breaks Were Denied — Lawsuit Targets Jubilant Draximage

Complaint filed over alleged routine denial of meal and rest breaks

Labor and employment lawyers in California have filed a class action complaint against Jubilant Draximage Radiopharmacies, Inc., accusing the company of routinely denying required meal and rest breaks to its staff. The suit, announced this week, says current and former hourly employees at the company’s California radiopharmacy locations were not allowed to take full unpaid meal breaks or paid rest breaks as required under state law.

The complaint seeks to represent a wide class of workers and asks the court for damages and penalties that arise when employers fail to provide or properly record breaks. The filing names two firms — Zakay Law Group, APLC and JCL Law Firm, APC — and frames the case as a systemic labor-practice issue rather than a handful of isolated mistakes. For patients and hospitals that depend on radiopharmacy services, the filing could raise fresh questions about staffing practices and how the business manages time-sensitive production.

Allegations spelled out: what the complaint says happened on the floor

The complaint lays out a set of specific claims. Plaintiffs say supervisors regularly pressured technicians and other hourly staff to skip breaks or to stay on the clock while performing work tasks during their scheduled break periods. They allege time records were inaccurate, and that the company failed to provide premium pay when breaks were missed. The filing points to patterns of short staffing, production deadlines tied to patient schedules, and a workplace culture that prioritized on-time deliveries over break compliance.

Examples in the complaint include workers who were told to remain in clean rooms for radiopharmaceutical compounding without a recorded rest break, and others who claim they clocked out for a meal but were still expected to handle urgent tasks. The suit describes how missed breaks can stack up over weeks and months, creating a claim for meal and rest period premiums — a form of pay that California law requires when breaks are not provided.

Plaintiffs also assert related wage-and-hour violations, such as failures to provide accurate wage statements and delays in final paychecks. The complaint asks the court to certify the case as a class action covering all similarly situated employees, allowing the claims to proceed on behalf of a larger group rather than only the named plaintiffs.

Who is behind the filing and who it represents

The suit is brought by a group of current and former hourly employees; the public filing names several individuals who worked as pharmacy technicians and compounding staff. Leading the case are Zakay Law Group, APLC and JCL Law Firm, APC — both southern California-based employment law practices that routinely handle wage-and-hour class actions.

Those firms have filed similar cases in the past, often focusing on break and overtime disputes in healthcare and service industries. Their track records can shape how aggressively a case is pursued and how quickly the plaintiffs move to seek class certification and discovery.

What California law requires and the remedies the plaintiffs seek

Under California law, most nonexempt employees are entitled to a paid 10-minute rest break for every 4 hours worked and an unpaid 30-minute meal break for shifts longer than five hours. If an employer fails to provide a required break, the worker is typically entitled to one hour of pay at the worker’s regular rate as a “premium” for each missed break. Employers must also keep accurate records of hours worked and provide final paychecks in a timely fashion when an employee leaves.

In practice, meal-and-rest break suits often seek a mix of remedies: payment of missed-break premiums, reimbursement for any unpaid wages, penalties for inaccurate wage statements, waiting-time penalties for late final pay, and sometimes injunctive relief that would require the company to change its scheduling and timekeeping practices. The size of potential damages depends on how many employees are covered and how long the alleged failures continued.

Employers typically defend by arguing breaks were available, that employees chose not to take them, or that any recordkeeping errors were unintentional. In class cases, a big early battleground is whether the court will certify the class — a decision that shapes discovery, settlement leverage, and potential damages exposure.

What this could mean for staff, patients and the business

For employees, the suit signals that common frustrations over missed breaks can become a formal legal claim with real money attached. For Jubilant Draximage Radiopharmacies, the lawsuit could mean legal costs, potential payouts if the plaintiffs win or settle, and pressure to change scheduling or staffing in California locations.

For customers — hospitals, clinics and patients who rely on radiopharmacy deliveries — the immediate risk to service is likely limited. These operations are heavily regulated and built to keep deliveries on time; a legal dispute over breaks does not necessarily affect product quality or safety. Still, the company may respond by tightening procedures or hiring more staff, which could raise operating costs locally.

Business impact will hinge on the size of the putative class and whether the case leads to a large settlement or a precedent-setting ruling. For now, the filing should be viewed as a labor compliance dispute with modest direct business risk but possible reputational attention in local healthcare circles.

Next steps: the procedural path and filings to watch

The case will move through routine early steps: the defendant will be served and may respond with a motion to strike or to dismiss. Expect a fight over class certification, which could take months. Key filings to watch are the company’s answer, any early motions, and whether the court grants class status — a decision that greatly affects how the litigation proceeds.

Photo: Robert So / Pexels

Sources

• prnewswire.com