A new class action lawsuit claims that Michigan-based Perrigo Company, PLC failed to pay hourly workers all the overtime compensation they deserved, violating the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
Shift Premiums and Bonuses
According to the allegations, Perrigo established and maintained a compensation structure that included routine shift premiums and non-discretionary incentive bonuses for hourly employees. This compensation was paid in addition to the employees’ base hourly rates.
Miscalculating Overtime Pay and Undercompensating Hourly Employees
Perrigo employed the lead plaintiff and other similarly situated employees in hourly positions, paying them a base hourly wage. A worker could earn an additional shift premium (e.g., $2.00 for the second shift) and periodic (quarterly/annual) incentive bonuses worth thousands of dollars. The employees regularly worked overtime hours.
The company should have determined the employees’ overtime rates by dividing the employee’s total pay in any workweek by the total number of hours worked in that same workweek. Using this formula, Perrigo’s employees’ total pay should have included the shift premiums and incentive bonuses. Instead, Perrigo calculated overtime only on the base hourly rate, denying the worker the appropriate (higher) overtime rate.
For example, the plaintiff’s complaint cited a pay stub showing a base hourly rate of $35.73. It also showed an overtime rate of $53.59, which was simply 1.5 times the base hourly rate. However, the plaintiff also earned $52.00 in hourly shift premium compensation on that paycheck. Because the plaintiff’s overtime rate did not account for the hourly shift premium compensation, it resulted in an FLSA violation.
The plaintiff’s complaint cited another pay stub showing a quarterly bonus payment of $1,422.34. Dividing that compensation by the number of workweeks during the relevant period (12 workweeks in total) dictated that an amount of approximately $118.53 should have been added to each of those workweeks for purposes of calculating the plaintiff’s correct overtime rate. Because Perrigo failed to incorporate this non-discretionary bonus payment into the plaintiff’s overtime rate calculation, it resulted in another FLSA violation.
The plaintiffs are seeking back wages, liquidated damages, and reimbursement of their attorneys’ fees and costs.
Stopping Wage Abuse and Getting Hourly Worked Paid
The attorneys in Sommers Schwartz’s Wage & Hour Group represent Perrigo hourly employees who are entitled to increased overtime pay as required by federal law. The class action is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. We are interviewing current and former Perrigo hourly employees who believe the company wrongfully denied them the compensation they deserve. If you or someone you know has worked for Perrigo in an hourly position and believes the company owes you your hard-earned overtime compensation, please contact us today. We’re here to help.
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Jesse Young
Jesse Young represents clients in serious employment disputes, such as severance negotiations, discrimination, retaliation, whistleblowing activity, employment contracts, terminations, and compliance. In addition, he has appeared in hundreds of wage-and-hour lawsuits and hundreds more arbitrations arising under the Fair Labor Standards Act and similar state laws.
