Binny’s Beverage Depot has been hit with a class action lawsuit, accusing the liquor retail chain of not paying workers enough overtime by allegedly not including an extra $2 per hour “COVID pay” when calculating workers’ time-and-a-half pay rate.
On June 22, attorneys with the Fish Law Firm, of Naperville, filed suit in Chicago federal court, accusing Gold Standard Enterprises, parent company of Binny’s, of violating the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Illinois Minimum Wage Law (IMWL) when paying some of its workers at its 45 retail stores in lllinois.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of named plaintiff Victor Sanchez, identified in the complaint as an employee at Binny’s store in Skokie.
According to the complaint, Binny’s gave its workers a “temporary bonus” of $2 an hour, on top of their regular pay rate, to compensate them for the “dangerous work conditions” amid the COVID-19 pandemic, from July 5, 2020, to Jan. 2, 2021.
“This compensation was well-deserved: these workers were literally risking their lives by potentially contracting COVID-19,” the complaint said.
However, according to the complaint, when workers were later paid for overtime they may have worked, Binny’s allegedly calculated their overtime pay by using their base pay rate, and did not factor in the $2 per hour COVID bonus.
In the lawsuit, plaintiffs assert the “regular rate,” as defined by the FLSA and the state wage law, should have included the additional $2 per hour, and not just the base rate.
They noted the U.S. Department of Labor provided pandemic-related guidance to employers, indicating “hazard pay,” such as Binny’s COVID bonus, should be included when calculating employee overtime.
The plaintiffs assert Binny’s alleged actions resulted in workers being “substantially underpaid” during the COVID bonus pay period.
The complaint estimates there are “dozens” of other Binny’s workers who may be included in the class action.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to order Binny’s to pay the workers triple their allegedly unpaid compensation, at 5% interest, plus punitive damages, as allowed under the Illinois law and attorney fees.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs include attorneys John Kunze, David Fish, Kimberly Hilton, and Seth Matus, all of the Fish firm.