Tuscaloosa judges uphold $35M Family Dollar ruling

December 22nd, 2008 by Scott Thomas

Three federal judges this week upheld a $35.6 million ruling against Family Dollar Stores Inc., saying the chain denied employees overtime pay by classifying them as store managers.

A three-judge panel in Tuscaloosa agreed with a 2006 jury that found the Matthews, N.C.-based company in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and awarded back pay to 1,424 employees, who routinely worked 60 to 70 hours a week. Their duties often included mopping floors, unloading trucks, stocking shelves and running cash registers.

The jury “reasonably determined that Family Dollar failed to meet its burden of proving that Plaintiff store managers’ primary duty was management,” said Judge Frank M. Hull in a statement. He was joined by Judges Joel F. Dubina and Peter T. Fay.

Family Dollar (NYSE:FDO) operates 6,600 stores in 44 states, including Alabama. The discount chain offers low-cost products primarily to rural and small-town customers.

Birmingham attorney Allen Schreiber represented the plaintiffs.

SOURCE: Birmingham Business Journal

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This entry was posted on Monday, December 22nd, 2008 at 11:31 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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  • alcagle

    I would love to know who else is filing charges against family dollar stores in the same exact cases in other states, my wife is a victim
    of the same and on top of that we believe she is being blackballed by an area manager that still works for the company

  • pam mejia

    I am a victim as well, I would love to hear from other victims.
    Thanks,

  • Walton1986

    I currently manage a store for them and managers are still required to sweep, mop stock unload trucks and now are the only ones allowed a back door key to take out all garbage.we are still required to work way over their so called 52 hours a week. I consistantly work between 56 and 70 hours a week, 14 hour days be the only one runnung the store sometimes 6 hours a day. I was hospitalized with a heart battack and other issues went back to work in 2 weeks. My doctors sent fd all the forms they required 2 times. After a month of being back at work they stopped paying me all together. A guy from hr named Brian told me I was still on medical leave and was not going to pay me. The timesheets show I was at work my dm new I was at work and even asked me to run another store which I did and still thje company said they would not pay me. I know personally one manager required to and worked 90 and 100 hour weeks then her name was run down and reputation besmirched when she tenured her resignation.

  • H. Gray

    After hearing all the complaints against Dollar General, it's no wonder that they have problems hiring and keeping competent employees. I was recently double charged for a purchase that I made with cash, after the cashier told me that my debit card would was declined. I told her please make sure that my debit card would not be charged. Her Manager assured me that it would not be. Not so. When I looked to balance my bank statement, I found the two charges, that I had paid for with cash!! I spent 20 minutes trying to pay for a $8 purchase. The cashier was obvisouly new, and did not know how to operate the register properly. The Manager was busy doing something else and took a long time to try and help, however it turns out was no help at all. I was told that I would have to return to the store with my receipt before she could call corporate and see what they would do. LAST TIME TO SHOP WITH DOLLAR GENERAL, ANYWHERE…ESPECIALLY IN NORTHPORT, AL. , NEXT DOOR TO SAVE MORE, ON MCF BLVD. Have been going there 3-6 times a week. NO MORE!!

  • robert

    Maybe the Chinese secretly own Family Dollar Stores – so why don't you ask your corporate office to send you some 7 year olds and YOU can pay them each 7 cents and hour so that you can spend some time with your Family. It's a “Win – Win – Situation”. The Chinese are used to the work for nothing pay and You would actually make a decent wage for your hours worked. The only down-side is that the owners might replace you with a 7 year old that works for 7 cents an hour. This is “America” man – do the American thing and make them answer for their illegal activities.

  • Dcooper61

    I worked for Family Dollar as an assitant manager and seeing the kind of work that was required of us compared to the pay, it felt like we were working for free. I also recall my manager in tears after being beraved by the distrinct manager. This place is in Brockton massachusetts. This class action lawsuit, does this also cover assistant managers as well or does a seperate class action law suit need to be filed?

  • Dcooper61

    perhaps you should go to the front of this page where it sdays contact an attorney for free conseltation.They will tell you if they are still violating the order.

  • http://www.beasleyallen.com/ BeasleyAllen

    Please email me web@beasleyallen.com and I will be happy to look into this for you.

  • Dcooper61

    I worked for Family Dollar as an assitant manager and seeing the kind of work that was required of us compared to the pay, it felt like we were working for free. I also recall my manager in tears after being beraved by the distrinct manager. This place is in Brockton massachusetts. This class action lawsuit, does this also cover assistant managers as well or does a seperate class action law suit need to be filed?

  • Dcooper61

    perhaps you should go to the front of this page where it sdays contact an attorney for free conseltation.They will tell you if they are still violating the order.

  • http://www.beasleyallen.com/ BeasleyAllen

    Please email me web@beasleyallen.com and I will be happy to look into this for you.

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