A new class action lawsuit has accused retail giant Target of shorting its distribution center workers pay by not compensating them for the time they spend going through mandatory security screenings before they can punch in, and after they have clocked out.
Luis Cortez, on behalf of himself and potentially thousands of other workers at Target distribution centers in Illinois, filed a class action lawsuit on Jan. 11 in Cook County Circuit Court. Plaintiff is claiming the retailer allegedly violated Illinois Minimum Wage Law (IMWL), and the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (IWPCA).
According to the complaint, Target, like many employers, required its workers to be subjected to on-site security screening prior to clocking in and out for their shift. Cortez is claiming that under Illinois law, time spent waiting to clear security and walking to their assigned work area where time clocks were located, should be compensated.
Under the IMWL, "hours worked" includes "all the time an employee is required to be on duty, or on the employer's premises, or at other prescribed places of work, and any additional time...required or permitted to work..."
Cortez is claiming that Target knowingly failed to pay its warehouse employees for all hours they worked, including overtime, and as such contends that Target's refusal to pay its workers violates IMWL and the IWPCA.
Cortez is seeking a trial by jury and for lost wages, including damages, penalties, interest and restitution, along with court costs and legal expenses.
Plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Douglas M. Werman, and Maureen A. Salas, of Werman Salas, of Chicago; Peter Winebrake and Deirdre Aaron, of the firm of Winebrake & Santillo, of Dresher, Pennsylvania; and Sarah R. Schalman-Bergen and Krysten Connon, of Lichten & Liss-Riordon, of Boston.
The lawsuit against Target marks the second such class action case filed by the Werman Salas firm against a major retailer involving screening procedures at distribution centers in recent weeks. The attorneys partnered in late December with lawyers from the firm of Hodges and Foty to also sue Amazon over its alleged refusal to pay workers for time spent in required pre-shift Covid screening.