McDonald’s class action denied

McDonald’s Corp. workers in California can’t sue as a group over claims that they were denied pay for work they performed during time they were entitled to take as meal and rest breaks.

U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez granted a request by McDonald’s to deny class certification to the worker who sued. The worker failed to show that there were enough common factors among the individual cases to merit a class-action lawsuit, the judge said.

Deanna Kimoto, a former hourly crew member at McDonald’s, sued in 2006 for compensation for missed meal and rest breaks. She sought to represent about 45,000 McDonald’s employees, according to a statement sent by lawyers for the Oak Brook, Ill.-based restaurant company.