Burlington class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Three hourly retail employees filed a collective and class action lawsuit against Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp.
- Why: The employees claim Burlington failed to pay wages owed for work performed during meal breaks, including overtime wages.
- Where: The Burlington class action lawsuit was filed in New Jersey federal court.
A new class action lawsuit alleges Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse shorted hourly retail employees on overtime and other wages by automatically deducting meal breaks they were never fully allowed to take.
Three current and former hourly retail employees from Burlington in Texas, California and New York filed the collective and class action lawsuit, claiming the company’s meal-break policy shorted them and workers nationwide.
The employees allege that although they routinely worked more than 40 hours per week, Burlington deducted a 30-minute unpaid meal break from every shift regardless of whether they were relieved of duty. They claim managers required them to carry two-way radios during breaks and respond to work calls, preventing them from ever fully stepping away.
One manager allegedly told employees at a store meeting that “they could take thirty calls on their walkie-talkie while taking her lunch, and that so long as employees are sitting down, they will be clocked out,” according to the class action lawsuit.
The lawsuit seeks to represent a nationwide Fair Labor Standards Act collective of hourly employees dating to August 2023, along with California and New York subclasses dating to August 2022 and August 2020, respectively.
The employees accuse Burlington of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act and California and New York wage laws by failing to pay wages owed for overtime and meal-period work.
New York employee says four of five meal breaks were cut short weekly
The class action lawsuit details how the alleged pattern played out across the three states. A New York-based employee says four of his five meal periods were interrupted during a single workweek, leaving him shorted about two hours of unpaid overtime at his $20 hourly rate. He claims the practice violated New York wage law, which similarly requires pay for all work performed off the clock.
One Texas-based employee claims three of his meal periods were interrupted during his final workweek, costing him about 1.5 hours of unpaid overtime at his $16.43 hourly rate.
A California-based employee alleges two interrupted meal periods cost her roughly one hour of unpaid overtime at her $17 hourly rate, plus premium pay Burlington allegedly owes under state law for each non-compliant break. She also seeks waiting-time penalties for wages left unpaid after she left the company.
The class action lawsuit demands a jury trial and seeks unpaid wages, liquidated damages, penalties and attorneys’ fees for the proposed collective and subclasses.
In another ongoing lawsuit filed against Burlington, a consumer alleges Burlington Stores illegally charged and collected Florida sales tax on purchases of tax-exempt baby and toddler products.
Have you ever had your meal breaks interrupted or cut short as an hourly employee? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiffs are represented by Innessa M. Huot of Faruqi & Faruqi LLP and Clif Alexander, Austin W. Anderson, Lauren E. Braddy and Carter T. Hastings of Anderson Alexander PLLC.
The Burlington class action lawsuit is Case No. 1:26-cv-10483, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
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