Judge Certifies Multi-State Collective Action on Behalf of Jewel-Osco’s Assistant Store Directors
Assistant Store Directors at “Jewel-Osco” today received conditional certification of a collective action in order to recover unpaid overtime for working more than 40 hours in a workweek. The judge overseeing the case found there was sufficient evidence to demonstrate that Assistant Store Directors were similarly situated and could proceed with sending notice of the lawsuit to hundreds of other Assistant Store Directors to permit them to join the case. The Assistant Store Directors allege that Jewel-Osco violated federal and Illinois law by misclassifying them as exempt from overtime compensation. The lawsuit asserts that Assistant Store Directors were required to work more than 40 hours a week and spend the majority of their time helping customers, working the cash register, moving products, stocking shelves, setting and resetting displays, counting inventory, cleaning the store, and otherwise standing in as a cashier, stocker, or other hourly worker. There are nearly 200 Jewel-Osco stores across Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana. Assistant Store Directors who worked for Jewel-Osco between August 26, 2017 and February 3, 2020 will soon receive notice of the lawsuit. The judge also ordered Jewel-Osco to post a copy of the notice in each of its stores and denied Jewel-Osco’s request to dismiss one of the Defendants. A copy of the judge’s decision can be found here, and news coverage can be found here. The decision has been put on hold while Jewel Osco asks the Court to reconsider its ruling.
If you worked as an Assistant Store Director for Jewel-Osco between August 26, 2017 and February 3, 2020 and would like more information about the case, please call Conway Legal at (215) 278-4782.