Family Dollar, a nationwide discount chain, has made a preliminary offer to settle an employee overtime dispute for $14 million. The amount has yet to be approved through court procedures, but the final amount will be dispersed among more than 1,700 store managers involved in the litigation.

The employers were accused of misclassifying store managers as exempt employees, which lead to overtime pay violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Since the managers in question were routinely asked to perform manual labor to fill in for employees in other positions, their job duties did not meet exemption requirements.

In order for an employer to be freed of their overtime pay obligations, managers must primarily be engaged in administrative, non-manual work and oversee the tasks of other workers. If they do not qualify for this exemption, they must be paid time-and-a-half their standard pay rate for any time and attendance worked in excess of 40 hours.

Employers can avoid expensive disputes that often result in penalties, court costs and back wages by regularly using appropriate timekeeping tools, such as a timeclock and a payroll processing system. 

---

All data and information provided on this news blog is for informational purposes only. Infinisource makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. Information regarding employment suits and other legal action is not updated after publication, and may not be current.