The City of Seattle Office of Labor Standards (OLS) announces the second settlement in seven months with Trader Joe’s Company for alleged violations of Seattle labor laws.
Following an OLS inquiry, Trader Joe’s Company agreed to a settlement under the Grocery Employee Hazard Pay (GEHP) and Wage Theft Ordinances and $55,009.51 in settlement payments to resolve claims for back wages, interest, liquidated damages, and civil penalties, to 95 employees who worked overtime in Seattle.
OLS alleged Trader Joe’s Company, which operates five stores and employs several hundred employees in Seattle and more than 500 stores and over 50,000 employees nationwide, did not include hazard pay when determining an employee’s regular rate of pay for the purposes of overtime (as required) between February 3, 2021, and September 2, 2022.
Instead, OLS alleged, employees at Trader Joe’s Company were paid one and one-half times the base rate of pay in addition to $4.00 hazard pay per each overtime hour worked.
OLS initiated the first inquiry into alleged labor standards violations by Trader Joe’s Company at Store 137 in the University District. Trader Joe’s Company agreed to a settlement under the Secure Scheduling Ordinance and paid $44,528.22 to 129 employees and $575.31 to the City of Seattle to resolve claims for civil penalties and fines under Seattle’s Secure Scheduling Ordinance.
“After giving Trader Joe’s several internal opportunities to make this right, they chose not to. For a second...
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