Building Materials Co. Reaches $2.5M Unpaid Overtime Class Action Settlement

A building materials company has reached an unpaid overtime class action settlement totaling $2.5 million over wage and hour claims.

The company, Allied Building Products Corp., was hit with the class action lawsuit by a former employee. According to the lawsuit, the building materials distributor broke a number of wage and hour laws, including but not limited to overtime pay, meal breaks, and rest periods. The focus of the lawsuit centered on claims of off-the-clock work that wasn’t paid, and that employees were regularly denied overtime pay, allegedly violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as well as state labor laws.

The lawsuit claimed that on top of working through meal periods, some employees even worked before and after shifts to complete the work that needed to get down—but without the overtime pay that should come along with that.

“Further, due to the work demands of defendant, it is alleged the rest periods and meal periods were not provided according to California law and were either untimely, short or not provided at all,” the complaint said.

A group of drivers and loaders for the building products company were included in the class action suit. Nearly 500 former or current employees were expected to be part of the Class. The total award amount from the unpaid overtime class action settlement that would go to the employees was $1,613,417.

Allied Building Products Corp. maintains that its meal and rest period policies were legal, and denies the suit’s claims as a whole, but ultimately agreed to the $2.5 million unpaid overtime class action settlement. Of course, agreeing to the unpaid overtime class action settlement is not an admission of liability.

Wage and Hour Regulations

There are a series of both federal and state wage and hour laws put in place to protect workers and ensure they are treated fairly. However, many workers across the country do not know the protections that the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) offers, which can lead to employers taking advantage of them, in some cases requiring unpaid overtime work despite the illegality of doing so.

Some workers may find themselves unable to file wage and hour complaints like this unpaid overtime lawsuit because they are not aware of FLSA rules. Others may be afraid that their employers will retaliate or even fire them if they speak up about these kinds of FLSA violations. To protect workers who help to enforce FLSA rules, laws also exist to protect workers from discrimination based on wage and hour complaints.

Filing an Unpaid Overtime Lawsuit

If you have worked for an employer that may have failed to follow the Fair Labor Standards Act or state labor laws, such as proper overtime requirements, you may be able to either join a wage and hour class action lawsuit or file an unpaid overtime lawsuit of your own.

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