Posted on 11-May-09 by The Timekeeper

Wow. Just wow. According to an article in GazetteOnline.com, Casey’s General Stores, a chain of convenience stores in the Midwest, has just settled two lawsuits alleging wage and hour violations for a total of $11.7 million (plus another $400,000 in “related settlement expenses,” whatever those are). That’s a lot of Slurpees and Slim Jims.

In the first suit, two assistant managers filed suit on behalf of about 7,800 current and former assistant managers, claiming they should have been paid overtime, but weren’t, even after they complained.

In the second suit, cooks and cashiers, representing about 76,000 current and former employees, claimed they were forced to work off the clock doing things like cleaning up the store, counting cash and even making sales to customers, plus they didn’t get their mandatory meal and rest breaks.

Think if you found yourself in a similar situation, you insurance would cover the settlement cost? Think again. Casey’s only expect their insurance to cover about $3 million of the cost. The rest will be a pretax charge against earnings.

The interesting bit — and something we all ought to pay attention to, I think — comes near the bottom of the article. Why would employees file a potentially expensive and time-consuming lawsuit instead of just complaining to the Department of Labor and letting the DOL investigate a company for alleged wage and hour violations? Quoting here:

Enforcement of wage and hour laws rests with the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour division. However, many employees file lawsuits to get justice more quickly because federal law can be used to recover attorney’s fees and damages.

Yep, it’s bad enough getting audited by the DOL and having to potentially pay penalties and fines. But it kinda adds insult to injury to settle a lawsuit and still have to pay the other side’s attorney fees. (What do you want to bet that’s the $400k “related settlement expenses”?) Look, wage and hour cases are lucrative… really lucrative… and relatively easy to bring to court. And there are plenty of lawyers out there eager to take them on. It would be a mistake to assume that as long as the DOL hasn’t come knocking, you’re in the clear.

Especially with all the layoffs and furloughs and reduced hours lately due to the uncertain economy, some employees are feeling disgruntled because many are being asked to take on additional work to cover for laid-off employees, or to get the same amount done in less time. Disgruntled employees are not inclined to cut you any slack. Best make sure all your payroll policies and procedures are on the up-and-up, lest you find yourself in a similar situation to Casey’s.

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