TAMPA, Fla. -- The United Food and Commercial Workers union last week said several Albertson's employees here have filed a class-action lawsuit that claims the chain uses its employees to do off-the-clock work -- the union's third such suit against the retailer in the past month.
he union said the latest legal action is part of its Albertson's Worker Advocacy Project. As in the earlier suits, UFCW charges the Boise, Idaho-based retailer with "payjacking" -- failing to pay employees for all hours worked. According to the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Miami, "Albertson's has engaged in patterns and practices of unlawful conduct by failing to record and pay for all time it permits employees to work and by threatening to discharge or otherwise discriminate against employees who complain." The suit also contains allegations by a former employee that the chain used coupons to make up cash shortages -- a charge that Albertson's spokesman Michael Read said was untrue.
"We are absolutely committed to making certain that employees are treated fairly and paid properly. If, in fact, there is any kind of problem in that regard, we want to know about it so we can take aggressive corrective action," Read told SN. "However, the union is trying to make a mountain out of a molehill and let it play out in the courts instead of seeking more efficient resolutions in other venues."