Safelite Wage & Hour Claim Settles for $8.2 Million

Safelite has agreed to pay $8.2 million to settle a class action wage & hour lawsuit claiming that it failed to pay its workers overtime .

On May 6, 2019, U.S. District Court Judge Dolly M. Gee issued an order granting preliminary approval for the settlement, Law360 reports.

Class Certified by Judge

The wage & hour lawsuit argued that the glass replacement company violated numerous labor laws.  More than 1,000 workers may receive compensation from the proposed settlement.

The technicians who brought the case argued that because they were paid on a per-piece rate, they never received proper payment for completing related tasks, such as administrative duties and the time traveling to jobs. Based on the time logged, the technicians said they were paid below minimum wage and were never properly credited for overtime.

Additional Work Claims

In addition to the allegations of not being paid what they were owed, the employees claimed there were other problems at Safelite. If a customer sought a warranty claim on something installed by a Safelite employee, the company allegedly reduced the worker’s wages for the loss.

The workers also accused Safelite of failing to provide legally-protected meal and rest breaks — the court ruled in Safelite’s favor on those claims in 2017 — and of altering employees’ wage statements.

In responding to the settlement order, Safelite continued to deny liability and said that they would appeal any final judgment made in favor of the plaintiffs. Both sides maintain that they were encouraged to settle to avoid costly litigation expenses.

Glassbytes.com reports that this is not the first time Safelite has been accused of violating overtime law. 

Overtime and Other Protections

California has some of the most worker-friendly employment laws in the country. For this reason, many wage & hour claims are brought by California workers.

The state’s Department of Industrial Relations employment laws state that a nonexempt employee age 18 or above, and any minor worker 16 or 17 years old, who is not prohibited from working, does not have to work more than eight hours in a workday or more than 40 hours in a work week unless that person receives at least one and a half times the rate of pay for all hours beyond eight per day or 40 per week.

When an employee can show that he or she has not been compensated for overtime, employees may have a claim against the employer.

What to Do If You Think You’re Owed Overtime

If you believe that you’re owed overtime wages by a company that did not properly pay you for your excess hours worked in California, you can find an attorney with the help of Top Class Actions.

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