Home Depot is facing an insurrection from its own assistant store managers. The Associated Press reports this week that three current or former assistant managers at Home Depot stores are seeking class-action status for a lawsuit they filed last August that claims the workers were unfairly denied overtime pay and pension benefits by being improperly classified as managers. If the lawsuit is granted class action status, it could include as many as 500 similar assistant managers across the country. Home Depot is fighting the class action request, and said in a statement that the company has “a strong commitment to fair employment practices” and that the latest allegations were without merit. A lawyer for the 3 plaintiffs said Home Depot intentionally misclassified the employees, violating federal and state laws, and forced them to work more than 40 hours a week without overtime. “These men and women have been given the phony title of `assistant store manager,’ but in fact have primarily been performing the work of hourly employees and are, therefore, entitled to overtime pay,” their lawyer said. Federal and state law says that employees are not eligible for overtime pay if their main duties consist of management of the company or a department, when they regularly direct two or three other employees, when they have the authority to hire or fire, and when their weekly salary is at least $400. “Assistant store managers at Home Depot do not meet any of these criteria,” the plaintiffs claim. “Many so-called assistant store managers’ primary responsibilities are still mopping floors, taking out the garbage and stocking shelves – all tasks traditionally assigned to hourly employees.” The workers also cite violations of laws in Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin.
For other labor problems at Home Depot, search Newflash by “Home Depot workers.”
