Former employees of the paint manufacturer, Sherwin-Williams, have claimed that the company has underpaid their workers and cheated them out of significant overtime pay. The collective action that was filed in Ohio federal court this Monday alleges that Sherwin-Williams failed to factor in special pay, such as bonuses and additional coronavirus pandemic pay, into their overtime rates. The lawsuit seeks to recover unpaid overtime, liquidated damages, litigation costs as well as attorney fees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).
According to this collective action, overtime pay is owed to all assistant managers and hourly workers that did not have their quarterly bonuses as well as pandemic bonuses paid since March calculated into their regular rates of pay. Additionally, assistant managers have claimed the company is aware that they work 1-2 hours per week “off-the-clock” in order to meet performance goals and reduce expenses. These hours go uncompensated and also unaccounted for when calculating their overtime pay. This is not the first time the company has been accused of violating the FLSA for failing to calculate overtime properly. Just last month, a California federal court settled a case for $3.65 million for wages it owed its store managers, assistant managers and other hourly employees.
Unfortunately, failing to include all forms of compensation into an employee’s overtime pay is not uncommon and actually seen in many industries across the United States. If the company you work for gives you bonus pay or has been providing additional pandemic pay during the last few months, it must be factored into your overtime when working over 40 hours per work week. If you have any questions or concerns about this, do not hesitate to call us for a free and confidential consultation at (212) 300-0375. You can also visit our website for helpful information about your employee rights.