Price Chopper Parent Company Faces FLSA Overtime Lawsuit

Golub Corporation, owner of the Price Chopper chain of grocery stores, is facing an FLSA overtime lawsuit alleging the supermarket chain fails to pay overtime to their employees.

According to the FLSA overtime lawsuit, employees working at the company’s Price Chopper and Market 32 locations were not paid overtime wages, despite regularly working up 60 hours a week.

Lead plaintiff Maria A. filed this FLSA overtime lawsuit, alleging she had regularly worked 50 to 60 hours a week but was reportedly never paid overtime. In addition, Maria was reportedly expected to be on call by cellphone on a 24 hour basis but was still not paid overtime.

After exhausting all administrative remedies, Maria filed the FLSA overtime lawsuit alleging the company had violated federal labor laws by denying overtime to her and other employees who had similar experiences at Price Chopper and Market 32 locations.

According to the FLSA overtime lawsuit, Maria was first hired as a loss prevention officer at either a Price Chopper or Market 32 and was eventually changed to loss prevention manager in January 2014. While her job title changed, her occupational duties reportedly did not and did not carry any additional responsibilities.

Maria says she had to monitor the store, call the police to report thefts, and review surveillance footage, and regularly had to work up to 60 hours on a weekly basis.

Overview of FLSA Overtime Policy

Under the FLSA (Federal Labor Standards Act), companies are required to pay employees at least $7.25 per hour and pay one-and-a-half times the regular rate once the employee works enough hours. According to federal labor laws, a non exempt employee who works over 40 hours a week becomes eligible for overtime pay.

According to the FLSA, employees who make over a certain amount of money and have input in the job statuses of others may be exempt from federal minimum wage laws. Employees may be exempt from these protections if their work meets certain criteria, such as:

• Earning a yearly salary over $23,600 ($455 per week)
• Regularly performing executive duties like supervising two or more employees, as well as having primarily management duties
• Having the ability to influence other employees’ job statuses, including hiring, firing, or assigning shifts

Maria alleges she met all eligibility requirements to receive overtime payments, yet she was only paid $917 to $973 in weekly wages as a manager. The FLSA overtime lawsuit alleges Golub had wrongfully classified her as a salaried non exempt employee.

It is important to note that in many cases of overtime lawsuits, employers may try to wrongfully misclassify employees as exempt from minimum wage to avoid paying overtime rates.

A spokesperson for the company stated that the company will contest any allegations, and that the company is aware of the importance of following federal labor laws.

This FLSA overtime lawsuit is not the first claim that the Golub Corporation faced, with the company reportedly agreeing to pay $6.5 million to settle an earlier wage and hour class action lawsuit. This case was filed in 2014 by a former employee from Massachusetts, who also alleged that managers were not being paid a proper overtime wage.

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