Settlement Sought in Lumber Liquidators Unpaid Overtime Lawsuit

In an unpaid overtime lawsuit in California, a proposed Class of Lumber Liquidators Inc. employees have asked a federal judge to issue preliminary approval of a $117,000 settlement to resolve claims of unpaid overtime wages.

Referring to the deal as “absolutely fair,” lead plaintiff Jose Zaldivar also requested preliminary class certification for the 240 employees so that the settlement can be disbursed.

After the attorneys’ fees and costs, settlement administration fees and more are taken from the settlement amount, the total payout to the 240 employees would be just over $57,000.

The proposed amount for the attorneys’ fees and costs in the unpaid overtime lawsuit is $35,000, with another $21,000 in settlement administration costs, and $3,500 to Zaldivar as Class representative.

The settlement amount per individual will average about $330 for those who did not opt out of the settlement.

Zaldivar has also told the court that Lumber Liquidators “has made significant payroll changes” since the proposed class action lawsuit was initially filed in 2009 “so that these same wage issues do not arise again.”

The proposed Class includes employees that worked for Lumber Liquidators at any time between September 2005 and the present, according to court documents.

Initially, Lumber Liquidators and the proposed Class agreed to settle the unpaid overtime lawsuit in 2013, but over the years, there have been a number of amendments. The most recent amendment occurred after the judge took issue with the $10,000 Class representative award.

U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti said the award was disproportionate compared with the $269 each class member would be left with under the settlement.

Judge Conti also said that the proposed $10,000 award was equivalent to 7% of the previous settlement amount of $140,000; a percentage that exceeded typical percentages that were used as incentive awards in similar cases.

Judge Conti said that one-tenth to one percent of the overall settlement is much more typical.

Unpaid Overtime Allegations

Zaldivar initially filed the proposed unpaid overtime class action lawsuit against Lumber Liquidators in 2009 accusing the company of violating California overtime laws. The overtime pay lawsuit was first filed in state court in California, but it was removed to federal court the following month.

As a former Lumber Liquidators assistant store manager, Zaldivar claimed that he worked at the store from 2007 to 2012 as an hourly employee not exempt from overtime pay, according the court documents.

In his claim, Zaldivar stated that he and other Lumber Liquidators employees were denied overtime pay because their earned commission or bonuses paid were not included when calculating overtime pay during a defined pay period.

A hearing has been set for July 19 to approve the new version of the unpaid overtime class action lawsuit settlement.

The Class is represented by Robert Tafoya and David Garcia of Tafoya & Garcia LLP.

The Lumber Liquidators Unpaid Overtime Class Action Lawsuit is Chavez et al. v. Lumber Liquidators Inc. et al., Case No. 3:09-cv-04812, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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