SAN FRANCISCO — Sales and stockroom associates at California Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Co. filed a putative class action lawsuit claiming misclassification and wrongful denial of overtime pay on July 30 in California state court. This week their claim was removed to California federal court. The company requested the change of courts because the associates’ claims fall under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which encompasses federal wage and hours requirements. And the company calculated that the potential liabilities for the unpaid wages could exceed $5 million, placing the claim under federal jurisdiction.
The Claim
Samantha Jones, the lead plaintiff, worked at Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister locations from December 2005 to January 2014 in various associate positions and eventually in a manager position. She was a nonexempt, hourly employee during her entire time with the company. As such, Jones was entitled to overtime, if she worked more than 40 hours a week.
Jones claims she and other similarly situated Abercrombie employees regularly worked more than 40 hours a week. They were also often “on call” during other shifts. Yet, because of the misclassification making sales and stockroom associates exempt in the eyes of the company, they did not receive compensation for all of their hours worked or for their “on call” time.
The associates “on call” work was actually a “call-in” shift where the employees called the store one hour before the shift was scheduled to start to see if they were needed. The company required employees to keep their schedule open when they were scheduled for “call-in” shifts. But, the employees were not compensated for that required availability, if the company did not need them.
According to the lawsuit, Abercrombie had a uniform policy and practice of not compensating its hourly employees for all of the hours they worked. Jones claims the company failed to accurately record and compensate hourly employees for the hours they worked; to give credit for “on call” shifts; and to pay overtime related to on call shifts.
Hourly Employees
There are very few situations where employees paid on an hourly basis are not entitled to overtime pay when they have exceeded the state or federal maximum hours worked. Generally, both state and federal maximum hours worked is close to or at 40 hours each work week. Once the maximum number of hours is reached, employees who are not exempt from overtime must receive overtime wages for their time, whether that time is from regularly scheduled work or from on call work.
If you are a nonexempt, hourly employee at Abercrombie or another retailer and you have not received compensation for all hours worked, you may have a claim for unpaid wages. Our experienced team of overtime pay lawyers can discuss your situation and options today at (855) 754-2795. Or you can complete the Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form and our knowledgeable 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.