Judge Certifies Part of Pep Boys Minimum Wage Class Action Lawsuit

A group of former employees who worked in the service department at a popular auto parts center have achieved certification for part of their claims in a Pep Boys minimum wage class action lawsuit.

The plaintiffs include Pep Boys employees who were mechanics and other personnel who were paid on a “piece rate” basis, meaning that they received a fee for each task they completed such as an oil change or other maintenance or repair procedure. However, as a result, they alleged that the company failed to meet the minimum wage standards set by California law, according to their wage and hour class action lawsuit.

In seeking to defeat certification of the class action lawsuit, Pep Boys argued that there was no way for damage calculations to be completed because there was no clock used for time when employees were not working on a specific task, and that there would need to be an individualized inquiry to ascertain what damages each employee included in the class action lawsuit would was owed.

In the order granting Pep Boys’ request in the minimum wage class action lawsuit, the federal judge hit back, noting that a single factual issue predominated, that the piece rate payment policy with no additional wages was provided to ensure that mechanics were able to make at least the minimum wage. Even though “there are no records of the non-productive hours worked by mechanics,” U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer noted that expert testimony could provide estimates of hours that were left unpaid.

The putative class in the wage and hour class action lawsuit will  include any former mechanics, express service technicians and commercial sales managers who worked at a Pep Boys location in California between Aug. 6, 2008 and Sept. 30, 2011. A similar minimum wage class action lawsuit was lodged against the auto parts center in 2012.

The Pep Boys minimum wage class action lawsuit is Steve Tokoshima, et al. v. The Pep Boys – Manny Moe & Jack of California, et al., Case No. 12-cv-4810, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. 

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If you were forced to work off the clock or without overtime pay compensation within the past 2 to 3 years, you have rights – and you don’t have to take on the company alone. Learn more and obtain a free evaluation of your case to see if you’re eligible for back pay and other compensation at the Wage & Hour, Overtime Pay Class Action Lawsuit Investigation.