A staffing agency recently agreed to pay $1.25 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that it failed to pay its workers overtime. The employer argued that the engineers were exempt from overtime requirements because they were skilled and highly compensated — some made more than $100,000 per year — but nonetheless opted to settle the lawsuit. Retail giant Target also is facing allegations that it violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime requirements. In a nationwide putative collective action, an “asset protection” employee has alleged that he is not exempt from the law’s overtime requirements because other, non-exempt employees performed the same work. In New Jersey, a cleaning company is facing claims that it refused to pay workers overtime and threatened them with deportation if they complained. And an Arizona resort and spa has paid more than $76,000 to housekeepers and job applicants after the DOL found overtime and H-2B visa violations.
Staffing Agency Pays $1.25M for Overtime Violations
A staffing agency will pay $1.25 million to resolve claims that it failed to pay its workers overtime.
The agreement settles a lawsuit alleging that Think Resources, now known as Randstad Engineering, violated federal and state overtime requirements by paying its workers a set hourly rate for all hours worked, including those beyond 40 in a workweek.
The employer said that the workers were exempt because they are highly compensated and skilled workers, pointing out that some, including the lead plaintiff, earned more than $100,000 per year. But after months of litigation, it agreed to settle the claims.
A judge must now approve the agreement (Haukland v. Think Resources n/k/a Randstad Eng’g, No. 3:14-cv-00145 (S.D. Calif. Feb. 26, 2015)).
Target Security Employee Files Collective Action
A Target security employee has filed a putative nationwide collective action against the retailer, alleging overtime violations.
According to the complaint, Target pays the workers a flat salary, regardless of whether they work more than 40 hours in a workweek. The potential class includes “asset protection” workers who monitor store security cameras and the store floor to prevent theft. The plaintiff alleges that Target misclassified its asset protection workers as exempt because non-exempt shift laborers who were paid on an hourly basis performed the same work.
Assuming that Target employs one asset protection worker at each store, the class would likely include 1,793 employees, according to the complaint (Rouse v. Target Corp., No. 3:15-cv-00048 (S.D. Texas March 3, 2015)).
Cleaning Company Threatened Underpaid Workers with Deportation
Six employees of a cleaning company have alleged that they were forced to work overtime hours without pay and threatened with deportation if they complained, according to a suit filed in federal court.
According to the complaint, the employees, who primarily cleaned Shop Rite grocery stores, regularly worked between 63 and 80 hours per week but usually were paid for 40. The workers’ supervisor warned them that if anyone complained about the discrepancy, he would “see to it that they would be sent out of the country,” the suit alleges. And according to one plaintiff, the supervisor said he had previously framed another employee and had the worker deported.
If the putative class receives certification from the court, it likely will include more than 100 employees, the suit says (Hernandez v. Enviro Kleen, Inc., No. 2:15-cv-01468 (D.N.J. Feb. 27, 2015)).
Resort Pays $76K for Overtime, H-2B Violations
An Arizona resort has paid more than $76,000 to 104 housekeepers and job applicants after a DOL investigation revealed overtime and H-2B visa violations.
Westin Kierland Resort & Spa routinely deducted 30 minutes for lunch breaks not taken by the housekeepers and did not pay them for the time they worked before and after their shifts, according to DOL. It also denied employment to two local job applicants qualified to perform housekeeping duties in favor of foreign workers hired under the H-2B temporary visa program, the agency said. The H-2B guest worker program permits employers to temporarily hire nonimmigrant foreign workers to perform nonagricultural labor or services, with certain restrictions. For those violations, the resort paid more than $47,300 in back wages. It also paid $29,081 in penalties because the violations were willful.
“This case serves as a firm reminder that we will not allow employers to deny employment opportunities to local, qualified applicants in favor of foreign labor,” said Eric Murray, a WHD district director.