Walgreens Employee Class Action Lawsuit Reaches $4.5M Settlement

An employee-filed class action lawsuit out of California against Walgreens has reached a $4.5 million settlement over allegations of wage theft and violation of California labor laws.

U.S. District Court Judge William Shubb approved the deal Nov. 24, marking the end of a two-year battle over time card punches and compensated time. 

Lead plaintiff Lucas M. alleged the Walgreens distribution center he worked for was not paying him properly and filed the class action lawsuit in November 2018. 

The 2,648 Class Members making up the plaintiffs will share $2.8 million. A third of the $4.5 million will go to attorney fees. 

Walgreens Employee Class Action Claims

Lucas stocked shelves in a California Walgreens distribution center for about two years. The work required him to punch in and out and undergo security checks after his shift, according to the initial complaint. 

He and the other plaintiffs in the Walgreens employee class action said their in-and-out times were being rounded down, shorting their pay. They had to spend uncompensated time in security checks when leaving for their shifts. Some employees alleged skipping breaks and not getting paid. 

While the deal settles the matter with Lucas and his group of plaintiffs, the judge referenced two other active cases Walgreens is currently defending in court: Whittington v. Walgreen Co. et al and Neuhoff v. Walgreen Co. et al.

Relevant Legal Fights Over Wages

Last year, the U.S. Department of Labor investigated a Georgia herbal supplement maker and found 28 employees were delivered shorted paychecks.

Investigators with the agency’s Wage and Hour division said Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals failed to pay overtime and legally-mandated breaks. They ended up paying those employees back a total of $454,655.

In AHMC Healthcare, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County, payroll systems were the focus of a decision by California’s Second District Court of Appeals. 

California’s Supreme Court has ruled federal laws allowing companies to short employees’ pay this way can’t do so if the work in question is substantial.

A Starbucks employee took issue with his unpaid daily closing tasks in 2012 and was initially dismissed by a federal judge. 

Eventually, Associate Justice Goodwin Liu ruled in his favor, sharing in documents that the seemingly trivial amounts of time can add up. 

“That is enough money to pay a utility bill, buy a week of groceries, or cover a month of bus fares. What Starbucks calls ‘de minimis’ is not de minimis at all to many ordinary people who work for hourly wages,” she said in her ruling. 

Kaiser faced legal action in 2018 with a lawsuit over off-the-clock work. The plaintiff in the lawsuit said the company required her to login, which took 10 to 15 minutes prior to each shift, before she was able to clock in. She also was denied pay for meal periods. 

Golden Gate America West LLC was hit with a class action lawsuit over not giving meal breaks and denying overtime in 2018 as well.

The lead plaintiff in that case said he regularly worked over eight hours a day without a break and was not paid for overtime. 

The City of Long Beach last year was facing a class action lawsuit over employees claiming they weren’t being paid a minimum wage.

California Labor Law

California labor laws provide for what’s considered the most robust worker protection in the U.S.

Nonexempt employees are legally entitled to paid breaks at regular intervals.

That includes a 30-minute off-duty meal if working more than five hours in a shift and 10 minute breaks for every four hours worked. 

On-duty meals are required under certain circumstances:

• The nature of the work prevents an employee from being relieved of all duty.
• It was agreed to in writing by the employee.
• It must be paid.
• It can be revoked at any time in writing by the employee, except under Wage Order 14 (Agricultural Occupations).

If a meal break is missed in California, a worker is entitled to an extra hour of pay and has up to three years to claim. If a break is missed, the employer must pay the employee for an hour and that must be included in the next paycheck. 

As of 2020, the state’s minimum wage ranks among the highest in the U.S. Employers are preparing for a $15 an hour floor coming in 2023.  

Certain classifications of workers are not protected by these laws and are considered exempt.

Action Employees Can Take

A recent study by the Washington Center for Equitable Growth shows wage theft risk has risen with the pandemic. As workers hold on to their precarious jobs, some can be left fearful of losing work if they say anything.

“If minimum wage laws are not enforced during the current recession, then not only are the most vulnerable workers—those already struggling to make ends meet on poverty wages—at a higher risk of financial harm due to wage theft by their employers, but also the whole structure of wages in an industry or a city is weakened,” the study’s authors said. 

The Department of Labor vigorously defends labor law in the U.S. and works to protect worker rights. 

“We encourage all employers to reach out to us for compliance assistance so that violations like these can be avoided. When violations do occur, our enforcement ensures employees are paid the wages they have earned, and levels the playing field for employers who play by the rules.”

For Californians, Top Class Actions can help with an investigation into possible wage theft claims.

Join a Free California Wage & Hour Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were forced to work off the clock or without overtime pay within the past 3 years in California, you have rights – and you don’t have to take on the company alone.

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