A $4 million workers’ rights lawsuit was filed on behalf of 500 former and present Vons employees against Vons locations in Santa Barbara County, the Santa Barbara-based law firm Anticouni & Associates announced on Sept. 24.

The class-action lawsuit filed in Santa Barbara Superior Court alleges that Vons did not pay overtime compensation and required employees to work while on their lunch breaks over a four-year period. The lawsuit also claims that Vons’ managers falsified employee time records to eliminate overtime hours and reflect timely lunch breaks.

California employees are entitled to overtime compensation both after eight hours a day and 40-hour weeks. One hour of compensation is also required for every missed lunch break during the first five hours of work.

Anticouni & Associates has obtained more than $150 million for California employees in similar wage and hour class-action litigation.

“Unfortunately, many employers do not know how to comply with California’s complicated employment laws, or worse, choose to ignore them. Even small wage claims for individual employees can cost thousands of dollars,” the law firm said in a news release.

• Contact Alex Kacik at akacik@pacbiztimes.com