The La Esperanza Markets are a chain of a dozen grocery stores that cater heavily to the Latino consumer with locations in San Jose, Salinas, Santa Cruz and Watsonville.

Contreras and Mendez approached the Watsonville Law Center with their complaints late last year. A San Franciso attorney investigating their complaints explains: "We are proud of them for having the courage to demand to be properly paid for their hard work, it's important that all employees are provided adequate rest and meal breaks. Employers who fail to provide breaks must pay the employees one hour of additional wages for each break missed."

According to his attorney, Mendez worked as a janitor, a butcher and a stocker at La Esperanza Markets from May 2000 to October 2003. Contreras worked in the same capacity from June 2003 to August 2004. Both claim they worked 10-hour days for six days a week, but were never paid for the overtime.

Lawyers are waiting for La Esperanza Markets to file a response in Santa Cruz County Superior Court, and that an auditor probably will be hired at some point to check the grocery chain's books.

According to California's Unfair Business Practices statute, plaintiffs can sue businesses that engage in unfair business practices to gain an advantage over their competition.

California's wage and hour laws require hourly workers to be paid 11/2 times their normal rate of pay for any hours worked in excess of eight in a day, or in excess of 40 in a week. They require payment at double the normal rate for hours worked in excess of 12 in a day, and they require employers to provide meal and rest breaks during the work day.