Tue, 02/09/2021
A Lowe’s employee in North Carolina sued his employer in April 2019, claiming he had not been properly paid under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) or the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act (“NCWHA”). The plaintiff alleged that Lowe’s employed hourly managers to supervise its retail stores, departments within its retail stores, or to manage other employees. Managers worked full-time but, according to the lawsuit, were not compensated for all hours that they worked, including performing work before and after their scheduled shifts and during their unpaid meal periods.
After additional plaintiffs opted in to the FLSA lawsuit, they filed claims that Lowe’s had violated the wage and hour laws of an additional nineteen states. The cases were ultimately consolidated.
Lowe’s argued that some of the plaintiffs’ state law claims should be dismissed because they are preempted by the FLSA. The Court rejected Lowe’s arguments, finding that plaintiffs could pursue their state law claims, so long as their recovery was not duplicative.
For more on your right to be paid for all time that you work, including off-the-clock work, visit https://www.mselaborlaw.com/practice-areas/unpaid-regular-pay-overtime.
