Dive Brief:

• Publix is facing a collective action lawsuit that claims the supermarket chain regularly required hourly assistant department managers to work off the clock without being paid.
• The plaintiffs include three former Publix employees who worked at stores the chain runs in Florida, Tennessee and Georgia and allege they were not paid for hundreds of overtime hours.
• The law firms that filed the complaint, Morgan & Morgan and Shavitz Law Group, are inviting other Publix assistant department managers “who may have been affected by the supermarket chain’s alleged unlawful conduct” to join the collective action.

Dive Insight:

The three workers named in the suit and “similarly situated employees” worked off the clock before and after their shifts on tasks that included cleaning, stocking shelves and assisting customers, according to the complaint.

The workers were also “routinely interrupted” during unpaid meal breaks to handle duties such as communicating by text or phone with other employees and filling out paperwork and reports, the suit alleges. As a result, the workers “did not receive a bona fide meal break or complete payment for work performed during their meal break,” according to the suit filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

The law firms handling the complaint said they have heard from “dozens” of people who worked at Publix stores in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina “who experienced the same issues.”

“Our clients have experienced something many workers face as we all become reachable on our phones at any time of day or night — that companies expect employees to be in constant communication but fail to track this time worked,” Morgan & Morgan attorney Ryan Morgan and Shavitz Law Group attorney Gregg Shavitz said in a statement. “It’s unacceptable to force hourly workers to work outside of their shifts and to not pay workers for their time.”

The suit is seeking remedies including unpaid overtime pay, liquidated damages, interest, an order preventing Publix “from continuing its unlawful practices” and attorneys’ fees.

A spokesperson for Publix, which is based in Florida and operates more than 1,350 supermarkets, said in a statement sent by email to Grocery Dive that the company generally does not comment on pending litigation but felt compelled to do so in this case “due to the nature of the claims involved.”

“As an associate-owned company, we are proud to provide our associates with a comprehensive benefits package — including company ownership — in addition to paying our associates in accordance with the law. We take these claims seriously and will respond appropriately,” the spokesperson said.