The Superior Court of California has granted class action status to a lawsuit brought by two former assistant managers at Borders superstores claiming unpaid overtime. The suit was originally filed in the mid-1990s.
The former assistant managers assert they spent more than 50% of their time working at tasks that were, essentially, not managerial and, under California law, are entitled to overtime. Borders claims that because they were assistant managers, per their job titles, they remain exempt from overtime, no matter what kind of work they performed.
The court ruled that the suit can be extended to all assistant managers who worked in Borders's superstores in California between April 10, 1996, and March 18, 2001, including those who worked in merchandising, inventory, human resources, music, training and in the cafe. Borders operates more than 35 superstores in California and the suit has the potential to affect hundreds of employees.
Borders's only comment on the issue is that it "intends to vigorously defend the action." A trial date has not yet been set.
Class action suits for unpaid overtime are proliferating. In July, Starbucks in California agreed to settle a similar class action suit by managers and assistant managers claiming unpaid overtime. Intel is also facing similar litigation in California, while employees of Wal-Mart in Florida have also filed claims with the courts for unpaid overtime.
