58 people have joined a federal lawsuit accusing Publix of wage theft, lawyers say
A collective-action lawsuit accusing Publix of not paying managers for time worked to preserve the supermarket chain’s profit margin now has 58 plaintiffs, lawyers said Wednesday.
Three plaintiffs were on the lawsuit when originally filed in Tampa federal court on Oct. 26, saying the Lakeland-based supermarket chain engaged in a form of wage theft in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
READ MORE: Lawsuit accuses Florida-based Publix of wage theft
Two more named plaintiffs were on the amended filing made Tuesday by attorneys from Morgan & Morgan and Boca Raton’s Shavitz Law Group. A Morgan & Morgan spokesperson said 53 other department managers and assistant managers have joined the lawsuit.
This is a collective-action lawsuit — all plaintiffs involved have to consent to join the lawsuit — as opposed to a class-action lawsuit, in which anyone who fits into the declared class automatically gets included.
So serious are the accusations that Publix did what few companies do in regards to just-filed litigation: responded, and instantly.
“As an associate-owned company, we are proud to provide our associates with a comprehensive benefits package — including company ownership — in addition to paying our associates in accordance with the law,” Maria Brous, Publix’s director of communications, said in an email. “We take these claims seriously and will respond appropriately.”
The lawsuit’s claims involve all matters of managerial work, such as fielding calls and answering text messages and emails dealing with staffing, scheduling, customer relations and paperwork. The problem is, according to the lawsuit, when these overtime-eligible managers are required to do that work when they’re supposed to be off the clock.
“Plaintiffs estimate that they each worked on average 3-5 unpaid overtime hours per workweek or more,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit says Publix regularly required these managers to work through breaks and after their shifts, but didn’t record that time and didn’t pay the managers overtime for that time, as required by FLSA.
“Defendant’s failure to pay Plaintiffs and the FLSA Collective for all hours worked was due to a corporate policy to limit labor expenditures, preserve corporate profits, and for the convenience of its operations,” the lawsuit says.
