This page provides up-to-date information and links to important documents regarding the lawsuit filed by Assistant Store Directors against Albertsons and related entities for failure to pay overtime compensation to Assistant Store Directors at more than 180 “Jewel-Osco” supermarkets located in Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana. The lawsuit alleges that Assistant Store Directors routinely work more than 40 hours a week in order to perform their job duties but are improperly denied overtime compensation, even though they performed the same job duties as their hourly-paid colleagues. The lawsuit asserts claims under federal and Illinois law. A copy of the legal paperwork describing the claims can be found here and media coverage can be found here and here.
The lawsuit alleges that Assistant Store Directors 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 cashiers, stockers, or other hourly workers. It alleges that New Albertsons, Inc., Jewel Food Stores, Inc., and American Drug Stores, LLC – as owners and operators of Jewel-Osco stores – have a policy, pattern, and/or practice of misclassifying Assistant Store Directors as exempt from overtime. It seeks to recover all unpaid overtime owed to Assistant Store Directors who work or have worked for Jewel-Osco between May 28, 2017 and the present.
On February 3, 2021, the judge overseeing the case granted Plaintiff’s request to conditionally certify her federal claim, and also denied Albertson’s attempt to be dismissed from the action. Albertson’s sought to appeal the decision to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, but both the judge and the 6th Circuit rejected its request. As a result, and in response to receiving notice of the lawsuit, more than 150 current and former Assistant Store Directors joined (or “opted-in” to) the case.
The parties are currently in the “discovery” phase and are exchanging documents and information relating to either side’s claims and defenses. Approximately 30 individuals (called “opt-ins”) have been selected to participate in the process. Discovery will continue for several more months, at which time the judge will be asked to rule on a number of substantive issues, including Plaintiff’s request to certify a class of Assistant Store Directors who worked in Illinois.