Rent-to-own retailer Aaron’s, Inc. recently settled a class action with 1,800 current and former employees who filed a lawsuit in Atlanta, Georgia, alleging that the company violated wage and overtime requirements of federal wage and hour laws by failing to pay them for time worked during meal breaks. The plaintiffs, employed in five different hourly positions at Aaron’s locations in 14 different states and the District of Columbia, will be compensated for approximately 2.5 meal periods per week at their average overtime rate of pay for each week they worked.
Despite the recent settlement, the company now faces another collective action in Pennsylvania. Reports have surfaced that Aaron’s failed to pay overtime to other non-exempt hourly employees (including but not limited to Customer Account Managers, Sales Managers, and Accounts Managers) for hours in excess of 40 hours per week despite working between 50 and 60 hours per week. Additionally, the Complaint alleges that company management instructed workers to “clock out” even though they were still required to work and, in at least one location, altered and falsified employee time records.
Aaron’s, Inc. employs more than 10,000 people at 2,000 company-owned and franchised stores throughout the United States and Canada. If you worked for Aaron’s and suspect that you were not properly compensated, the attorneys in Sommers Schwartz’s Employment Litigation Group are investigating these claims and would be interested in speaking with you.
