$9.6M Settlement to Resolve Abercrombie & Fitch Employees’ On-Call Scheduling Claims

Over 60,000 current and former Abercrombie & Fitch employees may benefit from a proposed class action wage and hour settlement, alleging they were not paid the minimum two hours during on-call scheduling shifts.

The proposed Class is currently estimated at 61,500 current and former employees, who are urging a California federal judge to approve a proposed $9.6 million settlement that would resolve the on-call scheduling allegations.

California is one of the most progressive states in employee labor laws, with strict requirements of 30-minute meal breaks every five hours and 10 minute rest periods every four hours.

Overview of California Wage and Hour Lawsuit

The proposed class action wage and hour lawsuit states that the clothing company had used on-call scheduling to get around California labor laws, which allegedly caused these employees to be severely underpaid.

The on-call scheduling lawsuit was first filed in July 2014, when employees alleged Abercrombie & Fitch did not pay employees the minimum two hours as required by California labor laws for on-call scheduling.

Employees alleged that they were required to report to work, but were not given any tasks. In addition, employees previously alleged they were forced to call Abercrombie & Fitch an hour before their shifts started and were not asked to come in for work.

Although there is no specific state law that addresses this particular issue, the claimants state that they are confident that the court will agree that the company should compensate them because calling in is required for the company’s on-call scheduling policy.

According to the employees’ motion for preliminary approval, the settlement would provide “significant monetary relief” to the proposed class of employees.

It is important to note that the employees are non-exempt employees protected by California labor laws, each of whom that have worked at least once in an on-call schedule during the class period.

According to the proposed settlement agreement, the average recovery for each Class Member would be $130 after litigation costs. The two named plaintiffs Samantha J. and Robert G. will receive $10,000 under the terms of the settlement.

“The relief offered by the settlement is particularly impressive when viewed against the difficulties encountered by plaintiffs pursuing wage and hour cases, and the dearth of appellate authority on the primary reporting pay claim in the case,” the employees said.

At this time, the proposed settlement only covers approximately 24 percent of the total “reporting time” charges but the settlement amount was still considered reasonable due to the risks of progressing through litigation.

The proposed class action settlement will also award $37,500 to the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency for the employees’ Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims, along with $136,500 in administrative fees.

During mediation, Abercrombie & Fitch argued that employees did not have the right to seek reporting claims under California’s Unfair Competition Law or PAGA. The company also argued that the on-calling schedule allegations were invalid because the scheduling was administered by store managers and not the company.

Both the company and the plaintiff party state that the settlement should be approved because it is a reasonable amount, which was produced from “good faith negotiations” by both sides.

This California On-Call Scheduling Lawsuit is Case No. 3:14-cv-04631, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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