Jennifer L. Henn  |  July 6, 2020

Category: Labor & Employment

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

woman working register at grocery store

Discount grocer Aldi has agreed to pay $2 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought by some of its workers in California who say they were not properly paid minimum and overtime wages, among other things.

The settlement came after the two sides entered into mediation in December to try to reach an agreement. It marks the second time in two years the Aldi has faced allegations of wage and hour claims and the second time the company chose to settle.

Under the terms of the settlement, submitted to U.S. District Court for the Central District of California for its approval, affected Aldi employees will receive anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars to around $1,700. The two lead plaintiffs stand to receive as much as $10,000 each.

California Class Action Claims

The California class action against Aldi started as two separate cases in 2019 filed by former employees who had the same basic complaints. Jeree Gant was employed by Aldi as an hourly-paid, non-exempt employee from October 2017 to May 2018 and filed a lawsuit against the company in February 2019.

Jennifer Lacey-Salas was also employed as an hourly-paid, non-exempt employee, in her case from August 2017 to January 2019. Lacey-Salas filed her lawsuit against Aldi in June 2019.

The cases were consolidated into one class action case, covering about 2,000 current and former Aldi employees, in federal court in March 2020.

Gant and Lacey-Salas accused Aldi of failing to pay minimum and overtime wages and of not providing them with meal and rest periods during their shifts. Once they left their jobs, the plaintiffs said, Aldi failed to pay their owed wages in a timely manner, failed to reimburse them for business-related expenses and filed to give them proper wage statements.

The former employees claimed Aldi’s behavior violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and California Labor Code.

Price Chopper Parent Company Faces FLSA Overtime LawsuitThe Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers in the public and private sector to pay a minimum wage ($7.25 per hour, as of 2009), pay overtime wages (not less than one and half times the rate of regular pay) for any time worked in excess of 40 hours during a work week, and sets certain recordkeeping and youth employment standards, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The California Labor Code requires employers provide workers with a 10-minute break for every four hours worked, in the middle of that work period, the state’s Department of Industrial Relations says.

Aldi has denied all the claims against the company.

Previous Settlement with Aldi Employees

In 2016, Aldi employees in Syracuse, New York filed a class action lawsuit against the grocery store chain claiming the company paid some of its staff flat-rate salaries for the same work its hourly wage earners were doing. The hourly workers qualified for overtime pay, but the salaried employees, who were store managers, did not.

According to a report on that case published by Syracuse.com, the website of the Post-Standard newspaper, the managers involved in the lawsuit were working “60 to 70 hours a week for an average pay of about $80,000.” A total of 520 plaintiffs ultimately joined the legal action.

Aldi agreed to settle the case, for $10 million, in 2018. The payouts varied widely based on the length of time each plaintiff worked for Aldi. The largest settlement was $20,000, Syracuse.com reported.

The discount grocer is also facing a lawsuit filed by four store managers in Maryland who claim they, too, were denied overtime wages in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The Aldi Class Action Lawsuit is Jeree Gant and Jennifer Lacey-Salas, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, v. Aldi Inc., Case No. 2:19-cv-03109-JAK-PLA, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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.

Get a Free Case Evaluation Now

We tell you about cash you can claim EVERY WEEK! Sign up for our free newsletter.


22 thoughts onAldi Employees Agree to Settle Class Action for $2 Million

  1. R. GARCIA says:

    Are people in Wisconsin in this settlement? If so…still waiting.

  2. Harley says:

    Every comment made about working at Aldi’s on this thread is true. I have worked on and off in Grocery half my life. I have even been Supervisor at a few. I was employed at an Aldi from 2017 to 2018. I went through the same hateful BS. Very Critical managers, assistant managers and those that think they are managers. So please heed to advice, do not apply for employment at Aldi’s. Cheap on groceries,but hatefully cheap to there employees.

  3. Norman Lord says:

    mee too i got a 17 dollar check i also wasnt aware of this settlement worked there 2 months between jobs,,, not a healthy work enviroment at all narscissitic women in charge lol

  4. CJ says:

    I am curious how I didn’t even know about this until I received the smallest settlement check ever! How do I get answers? Been all over this website.

  5. Erika says:

    When I worked for the company I was over loaded with pallets of food and timed on how fast the food goes on the shelf. The manager also pointed her finger in my face in front of the customers stating she’s the boss and tells me when I go home after I simply advised her my shift was over. I then grabbed my register, went into the back room to count my money as I balled my eyes out humiliated. I go home and called district on the manager who pointed her finger in my face and I had a meeting with someone higher up in the company to tell her what happened and I quit that day. Horrible person to work for. She was not a good fit for that company I was pleased to hear she was no longer working there.

    1. Victoria. says:

      Same here. The work load was insane. Especially, being timed to do these huge pallets & they wanted like 6 in an hour? No way. My SECOND day at Aldi, my body was in sooo much pain.

  6. Larry says:

    Asking a out the law suit I was part of it as well ..just seeing when we will get our checks

    1. CJ says:

      I just got a check for $16.72 lol. So don’t get too excited. The claim everyone will get a couple hundred at least is a joke.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. By submitting your comment and contact information, you agree to receive marketing emails from Top Class Actions regarding this and/or similar lawsuits or settlements, and/or to be contacted by an attorney or law firm to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you if you qualify. Required fields are marked *

Please note: Top Class Actions is not a settlement administrator or law firm. Top Class Actions is a legal news source that reports on class action lawsuits, class action settlements, drug injury lawsuits and product liability lawsuits. Top Class Actions does not process claims and we cannot advise you on the status of any class action settlement claim. You must contact the settlement administrator or your attorney for any updates regarding your claim status, claim form or questions about when payments are expected to be mailed out.