Being Mindful of Paycheck Abuses
By Phil Mattera for the Dirt Diggers Digest
It turns out that yoga instructors
are mindful about more than poses and breathing. They also make sure they are
paid properly for their work. A group of instructors in Illinois who sued CorePower Yoga for violating federal labor law recently reached a final settlement of $1.5 million to resolve allegations that the chain failed to pay them for mandatory out-of-studio work such as class preparation and communicating with students.
The yoga instructors’ case is just
one of a remarkable series of settlements that continue to emerge from the
courts despite the efforts by employers to thwart collective action against
workplace abuses.
I keep an eye on these developments as part of my work on Violation Tracker and am amazed at the quantity and variety of wage theft litigation. Here are some other examples I have been collecting to include in the next update of the database.
I keep an eye on these developments as part of my work on Violation Tracker and am amazed at the quantity and variety of wage theft litigation. Here are some other examples I have been collecting to include in the next update of the database.
PetSmart agreed to pay $2.4 million to a group of dog groomers in California who alleged they were shortchanged on overtime and mandatory rest breaks and meal periods.
Zocdoc, an online medical
appointment booking service, agreed to pay $1.4 million to resolve a lawsuit
filed in New York alleging that the company mistakenly classified sales
personnel as exempt from overtime pay.
Safelite agreed to pay $8.2 million to windshield replacement
technicians in California who claimed they were not properly paid for
administrative duties and time spent traveling to jobs.
Great American Financial Resources
agreed to pay $1.25 million in Ohio to settle a
dispute involving commissions for insurance agents.
Here are some other cases in which
the parties have reached a settlement that is awaiting final court approval:
Morgan Stanley agreed to pay more
than $10 million to resolve a lawsuit
alleging it improperly refused to reimburse its financial advisers for
work-related expenses such as client entertainment.
Pongsri Thai Restaurant in New York
agreed to pay $3.7 million to a group of workers to
resolve allegations that the company violated overtime and minimum wage
regulations.
FedEx agreed to pay $3.1 million to settle a suit brought
by a group of drivers in western New York claiming they were misclassified as
independent contractors and subject to improper pay deductions.
Not all these cases are resolved through a settlement. For example, a federal jury in Florida recently awarded $1.2 million to a group of forepersons employed by the tree service company Asplundh who alleged they were improperly denied overtime pay. It is not yet clear whether the company will appeal.
A federal appeals court recently
upheld a $4.6 million verdict won by a group of
exotic dancers who had alleged that the Penthouse Club in Philadelphia
misclassified them as independent contractors and thus denied them minimum wage
and overtime protections.
Two things are made clear by this
list. The first is that the problem of wage theft is pervasive. It is present
in both old economy and new economy companies and in both highly paid and
low-wage occupations. The culprits are both large employers and small ones, and
the problem can be found all over the country.
The second conclusion is that,
despite adverse rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court and efforts by employers to
make it as difficult as possible for workers to sue, there is no sign yet that
the flow of successful collective action wage and hour lawsuits is receding.
This is vital at a time when the
Trump Labor Department has been seeking to replace federal enforcement with a
dubious program promoting voluntary compliance by employers. For now, workers
are holding their own in the ongoing battle over paycheck abuses.