The rampant injustice plaguing manual laborers compelled New Orleans City Council President Arnie Fielkow to promote an ordinance that would make wage theft a criminal act. Fielkow announced his support of the measure on the steps of City Hall.

Research conducted by the Southern Poverty Law Center of Montgomery, Alabama, revealed that laborers in New Orleans suffered more from wage theft and other forms of abuse than anywhere else in the Southeastern U.S.

The SPLC report – Under Siege: Life for Low-Income Latinos in the South, “documents the human toll of failed policies that relegate millions of people to an underground economy, where they are beyond the protection of the law,” said Mary Bauer, author of the report and director of the SPLC’s Immigrant Justice Project.

“Workplace abuses and racial profiling are rampant in the South,” Bauer said.

According to the Times-Picayune, Councilman Fielkow promised to hold hearings on the issue of wage theft later this month. Fielkow also added that he has a panel of legal experts reviewing current laws to see how they can be improved, saying he seeks an ordinance “with teeth.”

Unless they are somehow connected to an advocacy group, many Latino workers in New Orleans have little to no recourse in recovering stolen wages. Workers who complain to authorities are often reported to immigration officials.

The Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor is in charge of enforcing Fair Labor Standards laws, including cracking down on wage theft. However, last year, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the Wage and Hour Division’s enforcement of FLSA laws dropped to record lows in the past decade.

Most abused by employers were FLSA regulations guaranteeing minimum wage and overtime compensation. Abuse of the laws grew while enforcement of the laws shrank, creating what wage theft activist Kim Bobo called a “national crisis at this moment in our nation” to the tune of $19 billion per year in unpaid overtime alone.

Interfaith Worker Justice, a worker advocacy organization founded by Bobo, held its annual 2009 Leadership Summit at Tulane University in New Orleans earlier this week. Highlights of the 3-day program included seminars devoted to faith and labor laws, immigration issues, and the wage theft crisis.

SOURCE: Fair Labor Standards Act › New Orleans is ‘Ground Zero’ of national wage theft epidemic

Buffalo Rock is one of the country’s largest privately owned Pepsi-Cola bottlers with 14 distribution centers in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. Its distribution area covers a population of 6.5 million.

Employees represented by the suit contend that Buffalo Rock violated the Fair Labor Standards Act when it failed to pay them and others in the company for work performed over the regular 40 hour work week.

“Buffalo Rock knowingly, intentionally and willfully violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay plaintiffs and all similarly situated employees the overtime compensation to which defendant Buffalo Rock knew they were entitled,” the lawsuit says.

Buffalo Rock maintains that the FLSA’s overtime clause doesn’t apply to the overtime hours clocked by the workers represented by the lawsuit.

Provisions for overtime pay are a common basis for many lawsuits citing FLSA violations. FLSA regulations exempt certain workers, such as executive, administrative, professional and outside sales employees, from overtime. However, according to the Department of Labor, “employees generally must meet certain tests regarding their job duties and be paid on a salary basis at not less than $455 per week.” Misclassification of employees, unclear employment agreements, or simple misunderstanding of the law are common violations of FLSA provisions.

SOURCE: Fair Labor Standards Act › class action filed against Alabama company for FLSA overtime violations

The 1,424 employees were regularly required to work more than 60 hours a week, and to perform duties not usually associated with store management such as mopping floors, unloading trucks, stocking shelves and running cash registers. The jury awarded $17.8 million in back overtime pay and an equal amount in damages.

Family Dollar, based in Matthews, N.C., appealed the verdict, but the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined on Tuesday that the judge and jury were correct in their original assessment of the case and upheld the 2006 verdict.

According to the opinion written by Judge Frank M. Hull and joined by Judges Joel F. Dubina and Peter T. Fay, the jury “reasonably determined that Family Dollar failed to meet its burden of proving that Plaintiff store managers’ primary duty was management.”

According to Beasley Allen attorney Roman Shaul, who is evaluating similar FLSA cases, in this case there was never any dispute that the store managers worked these exorbitant hours each week. The only question was should the store managers be paid for the time they worked, or was everything worked beyond 40 hours each week truly “free labor.” He says that although the opinion was in favor of employees, it is widely seen as a conservative opinion that closely followed the Congressional intent and remedial purpose behind the FLSA.

“The crux of the case was that the store managers believed they were ‘managers’ in name only, and that their district manager really made most of the important decisions,” Shaul says. “Under the Family Dollar scheme, store managers performed essentially the same duties as the hourly employees, but received no overtime compensation. This case was an important victory for these hard working store managers.”

Shaul says the Family Dollar opinion is very useful and provides clear guidelines on how to evaluate the Department of Labor regulations interpreting the “Bona Fide Executive Exemption.” The new opinion clarifies the concerns and questions many people in the retail and service industry have had for years regarding how to comply with Department of Labor rules in an ever-changing business environment.

“At the end of the day, the Appeals Court would not accept Family Dollar’s scheme of simply labeling everyone a ‘manager,’ regardless of what duties they actually perform,” Shaul said.
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.

If you or a loved one feel you have been a victim of unfair wage practices, we want to know. Contact us today for a free legal consultation.

SOURCE: Fair Labor Standards Act › Federal Appeals Court renders important decision against Family Dollar in FLSA case

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

SOURCE: Fair Labor Standards Act › Tuscaloosa judges uphold $35M Family Dollar ruling

The Company plans to continue to defend its position in this case, and, at this time, does not believe an adverse resolution will have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements taken as a whole. The Company presently does not know whether the plaintiffs intend to challenge the ruling.

About Dollar General

Dollar General is a Fortune 500(R) discount retailer with 8,164 neighborhood stores as of July 28, 2006. Dollar General stores offer convenience and value to customers by offering consumable basic items that are frequently used and replenished, such as food, snacks, health and beauty aids and cleaning supplies, as well as a selection of basic apparel, house wares and seasonal items at everyday low prices. The Company store support center is located in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. Dollar General’s Web site can be reached at www.dollargeneral.com.

SOURCE: Court decertifies class in Dollar General wage and hour lawsuit, by Business Wire

SOURCE: Fair Labor Standards Act › Court decertifies class in Dollar General wage and hour lawsuit