Operators and lab workers at Marathon’s Los Angeles (Carson/Wilmington) refinery allege they were shorted pay when assigned “primary relief” shifts—coverage roles that can involve showing up or being scheduled without receiving the minimum “reporting time pay” California requires when employees report as directed but are not put to work as expected. The case also raises common wage-and-hour issues in shift-based industrial settings: inaccurate wage statements (pay stubs) and missed final wages at termination, both of which are heavily regulated in California because they affect workers’ ability to verify pay and promptly receive everything they’ve earned. The lawsuit was filed to recover unpaid wages and penalties under California Labor Code provisions (including waiting-time penalties under Labor Code § 203 for late final pay) and through the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), which lets employees pursue civil penalties on the state’s behalf when labor rules are violated. Marathon agreed to a $9 million settlement while denying wrongdoing, a significant figure that reflects the high exposure employers face when pay practices are applied across a large group over multiple years—especially where penalties can stack per pay period or per employee. Notably, the settlement provides automatic payments (no claim form), additional amounts for terminated workers tied to waiting-time claims, and a PAGA allocation that still pays even some workers who opt out of the class portion. More broadly, this fits a larger pattern of California class and PAGA cases targeting how employers handle scheduling, premium pay, paycheck transparency, and end-of-employment pay—areas where the state’s rules are stricter than many others and where unionized, round-the-clock operations can create complexity if policies aren’t precisely followed. Similar cases across industries often turn on whether workers were “required to report,” how relief coverage is scheduled, and whether pay stubs accurately itemize hours and rates, underscoring that compliance isn’t just about base wages but also about documentation, timing, and the minimum-pay protections built into California’s wage-and-hour framework.