In a significant legal development, a class action lawsuit has been filed against a major supermarket chain, alleging violations of labor laws related to unpaid overtime. On October 2, 2024, Kristin Gower lodged the complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Roundy’s Supermarkets Inc. and its subsidiary, Roundy’s Illinois LLC, which operates under the name Mariano’s.
The lawsuit centers around allegations that the defendants failed to pay overtime wages to Produce Managers and other similarly situated employees who worked more than 40 hours per week. The plaintiff claims that this practice violates both the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Illinois Minimum Wage Law (IMWL). According to Gower, she was employed as a Produce Manager at Mariano's locations in Aurora and Elmhurst, Illinois from 2014 through 2019 and again from September 2022 onwards. During her employment, she reportedly worked over 50 hours per week without receiving appropriate overtime compensation.
Gower asserts that Roundy’s and Mariano’s systematically misclassified these employees as exempt from overtime pay requirements. This alleged misclassification is said to be part of a broader company policy aimed at minimizing labor costs by underfunding store labor budgets. As a result, Produce Managers were compelled to perform manual labor tasks typically assigned to non-exempt employees without receiving due overtime pay.
The lawsuit further accuses the defendants of failing to maintain accurate time records for their employees’ work hours, thereby violating federal and state labor laws. Gower seeks collective action status for all affected current and former employees across the United States who held similar positions within the last three years. Additionally, she aims to establish a class action on behalf of those employed in Illinois during this period.
Plaintiff Gower is seeking various forms of relief from the court including unpaid wages for all hours worked beyond 40 per week at one-and-a-half times their regular rate of pay as mandated by law. She also requests liquidated damages under FLSA provisions due to what she describes as willful violations by her employers. Furthermore, she seeks damages under IMWL guidelines which include treble damages for unpaid overtime along with interest penalties accruing monthly until full payment is made.
Representing Gower are attorneys Bethany A. Hilbert from Head Law Firm LLC based in Chicago alongside Seth R Lesser & Christopher M Timmel from Klafter Lesser LLP located in Rye Brook New York; both firms have extensive experience handling complex wage-and-hour litigation cases like this one before Judge C Andrew Head presiding over Case ID: 1:24-cv-09346.