November 12, 2007

Staples, Inc. announced on its website on Friday, November 2, that it had reached a settlement in a wage and hour lawsuit. Staples will pay more than 1,700 California assistant store managers a combined $38 million to settle overtime claims. The assistant managers claimed that Staples misclassified them, under California law, as "exempt" executive employees and did not pay them overtime. The assistant managers claimed that they had virtually no independent discretion and spent most of their time performing non-exempt work, such as working the cash register, cleaning, assisting customers, processing deliveries and stocking shelves.

Staples admits no wrongdoing in this matter and still believes that its store’s labor model is fully complaint with California law. This case is another good reminder for employers to review their exempt positions and make sure they are compliant with applicable law.

Staples' announcement may be found here.