The supermarket chain Ingles Markets Inc. violates federal labor laws with its pay practices regarding wages and overtime pay, according to a lawsuit filed today in Tennessee federal court by workers’ attorneys at Outten & Golden LLP and Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP.
Named plaintiff Nathan D. Gilliard, a store co-manager from Madisonville, Tenn., alleges the company willfully fails to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The lawsuit alleges that the Black Mountain, N.C.-based company has a “policy to deprive its salaried non-exempt employees” of earned overtime wages as legally required. The company operates more than 200 stores in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
Gilliard is represented by Justin M. Swartz and Juno Turner of Outten & Golden LLP in New York; and Elizabeth Alexander of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP of Nashville.
Turner said, “We hope this litigation leads the supermarket industry to conform with federal labor laws. Mr. Gilliard and the company’s other hard-working employees are entitled by law to take home the pay they have earned.”
Alexander added, “Ingles has systematically denied its workers the overtime wages they are due under the law. This lawsuit seeks to have Ingles give those workers their fair compensation.”
“I worked long hours at the request of Ingles in order to serve my customers and help make Ingles Markets successful,” said Gilliard, adding that “Ingles didn’t pay me what it was required to pay me for overtime. We just want to be paid a fair wage for all the hours we’ve worked.”
The law firms will seek to have the lawsuit certified as a class action to recover unpaid wages, liquidated damages, interest, attorneys’ fees and court costs for eligible Ingles Markets workers who elect to opt in to the collective action.
