TAMPA — Almost 900 current and former Lowe’s Home Centers human resource (HR) managers, primarily at Florida stores, settled with the home improvement retailer in a class action overtime claim. The HR managers claimed the company wrongfully classified them as exempt from receiving overtime pay in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The $9.5 million settlement will create a fund for class members to receive payouts, provided they agree to release their claims against the company. The current settlement does not resolve a similar lawsuit brought by Lowe’s HR managers in New York.
Two Overtime Claims
Plaintiffs filed the Florida claim against Lowe’s Home Center Inc. in August 2012, claiming the company regularly scheduled them for mandatory overtime without paying them time-and-a-half for the additional work. Lowe’s alleged the managers were salaried employees, and thus exempt from overtime pay. The lawsuit included current and former HR managers who worked for the company since January 2011. So far, 880 class members have opted into the class action, and the settlement agreement extends the opt-in period to allow additional class members to join. While the claim focused primarily on Florida locations, a portion of the settlement will be made available to HR managers from any Lowe’s location.
In April of this year, HR managers in New York filed a separate claim against Lowe’s Home Centers LLC in New York federal court. Like the Florida HR managers, the New York managers claim Lowe’s regularly scheduled them for overtime work without paying them for that overtime. The New York managers claim the company gave them manager titles but no managerial duties, intentionally misclassifying them in order to save the company money. There are roughly 150 potential class members to the New York claim. In the event Lowes loses the suit, the company estimates they would owe about $18,000 per class member in unpaid overtime wages, totaling about $8.9 million.
As the Florida and New York claims illustrate, when individuals bring class action lawsuits, other similarly situated employees may join the class action and benefit from any settlement agreement. The two claims also highlight that individuals need not join the existing class action to maintain a claim against the company. Yet, because strict deadlines exists for joining or filing overtime pay lawsuits, it is important to contact an attorney immediately.
If you are a Lowe’s HR manager, or believe you have been misclassified and denied overtime pay, contact our top-rated team of overtime pay lawyers today at (855) 754-2795, or complete a Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form. If we accept your case, we will represent you under our No Fee Promise. You will not be billed for legal fees or other costs unless you receive a settlement.