LOS ANGELES — A recent agreement between Walgreen Co. and its employees is expected to settle an overtime pay dispute. If the court approves the settlement terms, nearly 40,000 employees, in nine consolidated California claims, will share in the $23 million settlement. The employees were allegedly denied overtime pay for required security checks and denied sufficient breaks in violation of state and federal wages and hours laws.
The affected employees are “non-exempt” employees and entitled to overtime. For the most part they are employees paid hourly, including assistant managers and pharmacy technicians. The employees were allegedly required to submit to bag searches after clocking out at the end of their shifts. If an employee is required to submit to the search, it is likely part of their regular responsibilities and should be counted towards “hours worked.” Hours worked are the hours used to calculate an employee’s pay and whether overtime is owed.
Additionally, the lawsuit claimed the affected employees were denied required meal and rest breaks. While federal law does not require meal or rest breaks, if they are offered, rest breaks shorter than 20 minutes must be paid. Most states, like California, do require both meal and rest breaks, depending on the length of an employee’s shift. Most employers must comply with both state and federal meal and rest break laws and provide paid rest breaks.
Walgreen denies the claims, but has agreed to settle in order to resolve the matter. If the settlement is not approved, the case is scheduled to go to trial in June. Even though the parties agreed to the amount of the settlement fairly early, many negotiations are needed to work out all of the details. While no one has objected to the settlement, some of the plaintiff attorneys and the court still need to approve the agreement, which they are expected to do shortly.
Employees who worked for the company from May 2007 must file a claim form in order to receive their portion of the settlement. By signing the claim form employees will drop all of the alleged claims under the FLSA. However, store managers could still maintain some claims under California law, even if they sign the claim form. Released, or dropped, claims mean the employees cannot bring another lawsuit for this same claim against Walgreen again.
Understanding your rights before, during and after an overtime claim can be difficult. Deciding to accept a settlement offer may affect your rights to bring other claims. Our knowledgeable team of overtime pay lawyers is available today at (855) 754-2795 to discuss your situation and rights. Or you may complete the Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form on the top right of this page 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.