“We don’t take breaks here,” a Mother’s Market manager told a worker

As Mill Road Capital seeks to sell its portfolio company, Mother’s Market & Kitchen, thirty-three current and former workers filed complaints with the California Department of Industrial Relations alleging wage theft by Mother’s due to missing mandatory breaks, announced the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 324. Prospective acquirors of the Mother’s Market chain can deepen their due diligence around workforce management issues that have resulted in an escalating labor dispute by visiting https://www.mothersmarketduediligence.com/.

Workers claim Mother’s Market did not allow them to take mandatory rest breaks because they were too busy due to inadequate staffing, feared discipline for taking breaks, and/or were directed by a supervisor not to take them. The complaints log more than 2,500 missed breaks with an estimated value of more than $45,000.

The break complaints are further evidence that Mother’s Market faces workforce mismanagement issues, which a new owner will need to address, including understaffing, abusive scheduling, and allegedly terminating 16 workers in retaliation for union activity.

“Workers are taking action to solve workforce management issues that affect them and can diminish their ability to provide the best customer service, even in the face of retaliation by Mother’s Market,” says Jose Perez, President of UFCW Local 324. “We urge prospective buyers to explore solutions before bidding on the chain.”

For further information, visit http://www.mothersmarketduediligence.com or contact Leigh Shelton at leighsheltonmcleod@gmail.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260921217873/en/

"We urge prospective buyers to explore solutions to workforce management issues before bidding on Mother's Market & Kitchen chain," says Jose Perez, President of UFCW Local 324.