LOS ANGELES — CVS Pharmacy Inc. received final court approval in California state court recently on its $2.8 million settlement in a class action overtime pay lawsuit with its pharmacists. Pharmacists in Southern California claimed the retailer forced them to work seven days in a row without receiving overtime wages in violation of California labor code. There are six lawsuits against CVS over this practice in California. This settlement is the first of the six lawsuits.
The Settled Claim
The pharmacists’ claim was filed August 2012. According to the lead plaintiff, Connie Meneses, pharmacists were required to work seven days in a row, but did not receive overtime on the seventh day. California Labor Code section 852 specifically addresses pharmacists and requires pharmacists have a day off after six days of work. Employers who do not give pharmacists that one day off during each seven day period worked must pay the pharmacists overtime. CVS had claimed that based on the company’s Sunday to Saturday work week, the pharmacists were provided one day off for each seven-day period.
However, basing the code’s interpretation on a Sunday to Saturday work week would allow CVS to circumvent the code’s intent. For instance, CVS could schedule pharmacists for seven or more days in a row, like Wednesday through Tuesday, and avoid the overtime requirement because the pharmacist only worked four days in the first week and three days in the second. In 2013, the court agreed with the pharmacists and concluded that the way the state law is phrased the pharmacists’ seven-day period does not have to be a regular Sunday to Saturday work week schedule.
Achieving Final Settlement
The approved settlement represents 627 current and former CVS pharmacists working in “Region 72,” one of six regions in California for CVS locations. After receiving preliminary approval from the court, a notice of settlement and the information on the settlement offer were sent to all of the potential class members. At that point the potential class members had the opportunity to object to the settlement terms or to opt out of the settlement.
The court will generally look to see how many potential class members object or opt-out when considering whether to grant final approval. In this case, there were no objections to the settlement and close to 98 percent of the potential class members opted in to the class action. Furthermore, the settlement is estimated to cover about 70 percent of CVS’ estimated total potential liability, which indicates that the settlement offer is more or less fair.
If you are a potential class member in the remaining CVS claims, or you have recently received a Notice of Settlement, call our experienced team of overtime pay lawyers today at (855) 754-2795 to discuss your situation, options, and the potential fairness of the settlement offer. Or complete the Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form and our experienced legal team will evaluate your case. If we accept your case, we will represent you under our No Fee Promise. This means there are no legal fees or costs unless you receive a settlement.