On December 18, 2014, Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Petco Animal Supplies Stores, Inc. (“Petco”) on behalf of all pet stylists, groomers, and bathers who have worked at any Petco location nationwide.
The lawsuit alleges that Petco has instituted widespread unlawful policies which burden the rights of their employees and are in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), in addition to the wage and hour and/or labor laws of New York, California, Connecticut, and New Jersey. The complaint claims that Petco paid employees in the Plaintiff class piece-rate wages based on a percentage of what Petco charged for their grooming services, and in turn, the number of dogs groomed. Specifically, the complaint alleges that
Plaintiffs were required to purchase their own grooming equipment, such as nail clippers, blades, brushes, scissors, and shedding tools, which could cost them as much as $2,000, individually, every four to six weeks. The Plaintiff class contests that on weeks where they had to purchase such equipment, they earned less than the minimum wage for their hours worked, which is a violation of the FLSA and state wage and hour laws and/or labor laws.
Due in part to the misguided piece-rate payment system, the Plaintiff class alleges that Petco utilized additional unlawful methods to deny them their proper wages. For instance, they allege that Petco unlawfully refused to compensate them for time spent cleaning and performing maintenance work in the salon, such as sanitizing the salon and the equipment. They also claim that they were not provided with or compensated for a thirty minute rest period, when required by state law. Plaintiffs claim they received no compensation when customers utilized a free grooming appointment, provided by Petco. Additionally, plaintiffs allege that any coupons used would amount to a deduction from their wages. The Plaintiff class also alleges that, when required, Petco failed to provide complete wage statements which specified the number of piece-rate units earned and all applicable hourly rates, and failed to pay all wages due immediately upon discharge and within the time required by the law.
We are seeking to represent all pet stylists, groomers, and bathers who work or have worked for PETCO. Eligible employees should contact us in order to join the case. For additional information, please call the NYC employment lawyers at Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP at (212) 300-0375 or visit our website at www.fslawfirm.com.