Kroger wage theft lawsuit overview:
- Who: Two former Kroger employees filed a class and collective action lawsuit against The Kroger Co.
- Why: The plaintiffs claim Kroger failed to pay delivery drivers for compensable meal breaks and Illinois employees for mandatory security screenings.
- Where: The Kroger wage theft lawsuit was filed in Georgia federal court.
- How to get help: If you regularly worked more than 40 hours per week and were not paid overtime wages or misclassified, you may qualify to join an unpaid overtime class action lawsuit investigation.
A new class and collective action lawsuit alleges Kroger failed to pay hourly workers for time they were required to work.
Two former delivery drivers filed the wage theft lawsuit on behalf of themselves and other similarly situated workers.
The former driver claims Kroger’s payroll system automatically deducted 30 minutes from each shift for a meal break, regardless of whether drivers actually got one.
According to the class action lawsuit, delivery routes were built around fixed delivery windows that left no real opportunity to stop and eat, and drivers were tracked using an on-time performance metric that penalized delays.
“There were days when the plaintiffs and [class members] never took a meal break at all,” the lawsuit says. “On other days, they were required to perform work during their meal periods and received less than 20 minutes for a break.”
Wage theft lawsuit claims Kroger’s security screenings went unpaid
The Kroger class and collective action brings a separate claim tied to security screenings at Kroger’s distribution centers.
According to the class action lawsuit, workers were required to pass through a screening station before clocking in each day, where they lined up, submitted bags for inspection, removed metal objects and underwent a handheld wand search. The same process was repeated after employees clocked out at the end of their shifts.
The screening reportedly took about 10 to 15 minutes each way, and workers say they often arrived 15 to 30 minutes early to make sure they cleared the line before their shift officially began.
The lawsuit argues this time should have been paid under Illinois law because the screenings were mandatory, conducted on Kroger’s property and fully controlled by the company.
The Kroger lawsuit seeks to represent a nationwide collective of current and former hourly delivery drivers who worked for Kroger during the three years before the case was filed, along with two proposed Illinois classes of employees who completed security screenings, one reaching back three years and the other 10 years.
The plaintiffs have demanded a jury trial and are seeking unpaid wages, overtime, statutory penalties, interest and attorneys’ fees on behalf of themselves and the proposed class and collective members.
Other companies recently hit with unpaid wage allegations include FedEx, UPS and Home Depot.
Have you ever worked as a delivery driver or warehouse employee for Kroger? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiffs are represented by Rammy Allouche and Don Foty of Foty Law Group P.C. and Arnold Lizana of the Law Offices of Arnold J. Lizana III.
The Kroger class action lawsuit is Case No. 1:26-cv-03959-SCJ, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
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