Workers say hotels broke law by not giving time for breaks.

ADD more fuel to the hotel fire.

Four hotel workers at the Westin Century Plaza Hotel & Spa and the St. Regis Los Angeles have filed a $10 million lawsuit against operator Starwood Hotels & Resorts Inc. for failing to provide them meal and rest breaks.

The suit, a potential class action of 1,000 employees who have worked at the hotels since September 2000, was filed in September amid ongoing negotiations between the hotels and Unite HERE, which represents hotel workers.

The suit is not related to the labor negotiations, said Puja Batra, an attorney at Bahan & Associates, the Pasadena law firm representing the four.

"The investigation has been going on for many, many months on this case," she said. "People were really being worked too hard. There was no one available to relieve them. They had a certain amount of things they had to get done, so they had to work the entire shift."

Under California's Labor Codes and wage laws, workers who are entitled to overtime pay must receive a 30-minute meal period and two 10-minute rest periods if they work an eight-hour shift. Employees deprived of those breaks are entitled to at least one hour of regular pay.

Batra estimates the suit, which is seeking class certification in L.A. Superior Court, could reach $10 million in damages. The lead plaintiff is Edgar Bonilla, a room service cook who began working at Century Plaza in 1998.

Starwood spokeswoman Nadeen Iyala declined to comment on pending litigation.