Meredith Friesen  |  April 1, 2015

Category: Labor & Employment

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Publix class action settlementA wage and hour lawsuit filed against a Publix Super Markets Inc. faces resistance as the grocery chain claims that the plaintiffs’ allegations against them have no true foundation according to federal labor laws.

The Publix wage and hour lawsuit, originally filed in May 2014, claims that Publix failed to pay fair wages and overtime in the areas of “periodic bonuses, paid holidays, prizes, awards and other cash payments” in addition to overtime. Allegedly, Publix violated federal labor laws concerning employees’ Christmas bonuses, six paid holidays, tuition reimbursement, and sharing and retail bonuses. The plaintiffs further claim that Publix was aware that their retail bonus, in particular, went against federal labor laws as the bonus was based on store sales while employment laws state that all bonuses need to be a percentage of an individual’s total earnings.

Publix argues that the plaintiffs misread federal labor laws, making their allegations invalid. According to court documents, Publix states, “In their opposition, plaintiffs misstate the law, ignore controlling precedent, attempt to change an undisputed factual record and raise and respond to arguments that are not made by Publix.”

This is just one of many wage and hour lawsuits filed against a major employer by employees who believe that their employers are in violation of federal labor laws.

Wage and Hour Laws

While this wage and hour lawsuit focuses on labor law violations concerning bonuses, vacation time, and other related issues, there are multiple types of unlawful wage and hour practices that employers sometimes exploit at the expense of their employees.

Federal labor law violations may include:

  • Unpaid Overtime
  • Unpaid Wages
  • Off the Clock Work
  • Employee Misclassification as Exempt
  • Employee Misclassification as Independent Contractor
  • Missed Meals & Breaks
  • Paying less than Minimum Wage
  • Excessive Side Work
  • Unpaid Internship

Overtime is any time worked over 40 hours a week. While there are exceptions to this rule, there are also misclassifications.

Employee misclassification may be one of the most common labor law violations. Many jobs classified as managerial are denied overtime pay because of their job title. However, their actual day-to-day tasks largely include work that is non-managerial. Employees may be not getting paid overtime because of this form of misclassification.

Other major federal labor law complaints concern unpaid wages. Many employees have claimed that their employer required them to work off the clock or that their timekeeping records were inaccurate. Other unpaid wage concerns may involve attending unpaid meetings or training, additional off the clock communication, or working through their lunch break.

The statute of limitations for employee wage and hour complaints is three years. Multiple unpaid wages lawsuits and employee class action lawsuits have been filed in an attempt to receive the wages that were rightfully due an employee.

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One thought on Publix Pushes Back Against Wage and Hour Lawsuit

  1. Sherrena Green says:

    Add me

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