Court Consolidates Two Clean Harbors Wage-and-Hour Class Actions

Plaintiffs Reginaldo Velasquez and Dino de Sanctis, proceeding with counsel, allege wage and hour violations against Clean Harbors and related defendants. The two actions, No. 2:23-cv-01742 and No. 2:24-cv-00551, were previously related by court order on March 22, 2024.

On April 10, 2026, the parties filed a joint stipulation requesting consolidation under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42(a) for all purposes, including pretrial proceedings, discovery, and trial. The stipulation further provided that all papers filed and written discovery, deposition transcripts, and document productions in the related actions would be usable in the consolidated action.

U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd granted the request, finding that the cases involve the same or similar parties, claims, and questions of fact or law. The court determined that consolidation would avoid unnecessary costs and duplication of proceedings, weighing the saving of time and effort consolidation would produce against any inconvenience, delay, or expense that it would cause.

The court also addressed the litigation timeline. On April 14, 2026, the parties filed a joint status report in the de Sanctis class action, requesting that the court vacate the upcoming scheduling conference or issue a scheduling order with dates substantially similar to those in the Velasquez class action.

The court vacated the initial scheduling conference set for April 27, 2026, and adopted the schedule of the Velasquez class action, which it designated as the lead case.

Under the adopted schedule, fact discovery must be completed by December 21, 2026. All motions, with specific exceptions for continuances, temporary restraining orders, or other emergency applications, must be filed no later than January 11, 2027. These motions must be noticed for hearing consistent with Judge Drozd's Standing Order and on a date no more than 60 days after filing.

The Final Pretrial Conference is set for June 28, 2027, at 1:30 PM before Judge Drozd via Zoom. The jury trial is scheduled for September 7, 2027, at 9:00 AM in Courtroom 4 (DAD) before Judge Drozd.

Going forward, the parties and the Clerk of the Court are directed to file documents under only the lead case number, 2:23-cv-01742-DAD-CKD. The Clerk is directed to administratively close the member case, 2:24-cv-00551-DAD-CKD. Future captions must indicate the lead case number followed by the member case numbers.