Employer record, U.S. Labor Department investigations

Food 4 Less Wage and Hour Cases in California

Benjamin Eghbali, Esq.Legal notes by Benjamin Eghbali, Esq.

Food 4 Less: 6 investigations, $0 in back wages for 0 workers, latest closed Jan 15, 2020.

Every federal wage and hour case closed in California since 2004 and a handful before: 30,596 investigations, 23,910 employers, $472,441,289 in back wages for 335,130 workers.

Food 4 Less wage and hour record at a glance

Food 4 Less appears in 6 concluded Wage and Hour Division investigations in California, closed between Feb 20, 2008 and Jan 15, 2020. 3 of them found violations, 7 in all, and the employer agreed to pay $0 in back wages to 0 workers, with no civil money penalty assessed. The largest single case closed Jan 15, 2020 in Gardena with $0 for 0 workers. That places the employer at #12,341 of 23,910 California employers in the database by back wages. The same employer has 4 WARN layoff notices on file with the EDD.

Industry as coded by the Division: Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores; Grocery and Related Product Merchant Wholesalers. Laws involved: FMLA, FLSA.

Every case, newest first

Case closedPeriod investigatedCityFindingsBack wagesWorkers paidPenaltiesLaws
Jan 15, 2020Jan 2020 to Jan 2020Gardenano violations found000
Dec 3, 2017Dec 2015 to Dec 2017Los Angelesno violations found000
Mar 18, 2014Mar 2012 to Mar 2014Victorville4 violations000FMLA
Mar 11, 2014Mar 2012 to Mar 2014National City2 violations000FMLA
Jun 3, 2010Jun 2008 to Jun 2010Coronano violations found000
Feb 20, 2008Feb 2006 to Feb 2008Selma1 violation000FLSA

Also filed as: Gongco Foods; Ralphs Grocery Company; Ralphs Grocery Company - Distribution; Ralps Grocery Company; Food 4 Less of California, Inc.

Local pages: Los Angeles employment lawyer, Victorville employment lawyer.

How to read this record

Each row is one federal investigation. Period investigated is the span of payroll the Division reviewed, usually two years back from the complaint. Back wages is what the employer agreed to pay for that period at the federal rate; penalties went to the government, not to workers.

Back wages computed under the federal law are usually a fraction of the California number for the same hours: the state minimum is $16.90 in 2026, overtime starts after 8 hours in a day, and each missed meal or rest period adds an hour of pay. Workers paid in these cases may still be owed that difference, and the federal release form covers only the federal claim.

Full explainer: what a Labor Department case is, and what it is not.

If you work, or worked, at Food 4 Less

Pull together your pay stubs and your own record of hours for the last three years, request your pay records in writing (the employer has 21 days under Labor Code 226), and keep any WH-58 receipt from a Labor Department payment. A free review tells you in one call whether the California numbers exceed what was paid, whether break premiums and waiting time penalties apply, and whether anything that happened after you complained counts as retaliation. Call (800) 371-3088 or send your stubs.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division enforcement database, California cases. Record last checked Oct 30, 2026. Back to the wage theft tracker.

About this data: Cases come from the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division enforcement database (WHD compliance actions concluded since fiscal year 2005, California employers only), published by the Department of Labor and reloaded here every month. "Back wages" are amounts the employer agreed to pay at the close of the investigation; "penalties" are civil money penalties assessed. An investigation that found no violation is listed as such. The database does not include California Labor Commissioner cases or private lawsuits. This page is general information, not legal advice about your situation.

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