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Duane Reade Legal Battle Continues In Overtime Dispute

NEW YORK — Assistant managers for Duane Reade pharmacies are urging the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a lower court’s class certification. The assistant managers brought an overtime lawsuit against Duane Reade in 2011 for violating FLSA and New York labor law. Allegedly Duane Reade, a New York based Walgreen Co. subsidiary, misclassified its assistant managers as exempt and denied them proper overtime wages.

Case History

A New York federal court granted certification for class status in March 2013 for the state labor law claims. In October, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals accepted Duane Reade’s request to reconsider the certification. This ongoing legal battle stems from the court specifically limiting the certification to Duane Reade’s liability, or responsibility, for misclassifying the assistant managers. This means at trial the court would only determine if the company was liable to the class; it would not address damages, if any were owed.

Damages

Damages are legal compensation for injuries. There are three subclasses under the class certification, each based on how the assistant manager interpreted how many hours their salary covered. Each subclass and class member could potentially have different damages in this lawsuit. If the court determines Duane Reade is liable, the court would need to address the amount of damages in nearly 700 individual trials. The company argues having one large liability trial, determining which class the assistant manager fell into, then having hundreds of individual trials would be costly, time consuming, and not conducive to a class action.

Class Actions

Class actions are intended to streamline the litigation process by combining cases with similar legal questions or sources of injury, among other things. Generally, the court also prefers class actions that allow for resolution of both legal questions and determining what damages should be paid at the same time. A recent Supreme Court ruling has raised the question as to whether plaintiffs are required to show both common liability and damages before receiving class certification. This requirement could lead to fewer class actions and more individual trials, each with varying results on liability and damages.

Employees can, and often do, bring individual claims against employers for wage and overtime violations. Occasionally, these individual claims can become class or collective actions. Whether a claim is individual or a class or collective action does not predetermine the outcome of the lawsuit. However, class actions allow more individuals to take part in the lawsuit at a lower cost and with strength in numbers. This also allows some employees who were not aware of the violations to seek relief.

If you believe your employer has misclassified your position and owes you overtime pay, contact our experienced team of overtime pay lawyers today at (855) 754-2795 or complete the Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form. Our knowledgeable legal team will evaluate your case and claim options. 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.

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