DSW Employees Reach Class Action Settlement Over Missed Breaks

A federal judge preliminarily approved a class action lawsuit settlement last week that will resolve claims that shoe retailer DSW, Inc. denied 3,000 California employees mandated breaks. The deal will provide hourly employees covered by the DSW wage settlement about $2.72 for each week they worked during the Class Period.

The DSW wage-and-hour class action lawsuit was filed in 2011 by DSW sales associate and merchandise manager Olga Aguirre, who accused the shoe retailer of various wage and labor code violations, including allegations that the company prevented its nonexempt hourly employees mandated meal and rest breaks.

The class action lawsuit also accused DSW of failing to provide itemized wage statements or reasonable seating accommodations for workers, and of using an inappropriate method of final compensation to withhold wages.

Class Members of the DSW employee class action lawsuit settlement include all hourly employees who worked at DSW retail stores in California between May 30, 2009 and August 9, 2012. An estimated 3,000 employees are covered by the DSW break settlement.

U.S. District Judge George H. Wu granted preliminary approval of the DSW employee break settlement on September 6, 2012 and set a Final Fairness Hearing for November 26.

The DSW Wage-and-Labor Class Action Lawsuit Settlement case is Olga Aguirre v. DSW Inc., et al., Case No. 11-cv-01522, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Aguirre is represented by A. Nicholas Georggin and Steven D. Sperling of Krutcik & Georggin.