Pep Boys Workers Claim Unpaid "Clock Time"

The plaintiffs, residents of Tennessee, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, allege Pep Boys altered computer-generated time records to avoid paying employees for overtime and often made employees work “off the clock,” according to the Associated Press.  

Pay “Check”
 
The lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, Rosann Wilks, worked for Pep Boys for two years in Massachusetts and a year in Tennessee.  According to the AP report, she alleges that after her promotion to manager in January 2001, corporate officials ordered her to shave overtime from employee time records.

“They said, ‘No matter what, no ifs, ands or buts, we are not allowed to have anything over 40 hours'” per week, said Wilks, who was paid $12 an hour as a manager and estimated she worked six or seven hours a week for free.

The plaintiffs want Pep Boys to reimburse them and other eligible employees for unpaid overtime plus an equal amount in liquidated damages, along with attorneys’ fees.  However, according to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs don’t know how much is owed because Pep Boys has the payroll and employment records.

Pep “Talk”

Pep Boys spokeswoman Heather Ward said the 23,000-employee company was aware of the lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Nashville and planned to investigate the matter. She declined to comment further, according to the AP.

Pep Boys operates 629 stores and more than 6,500 service bays in 36 states, according to its Web site.

Similar cases have been filed against a growing number of employers, including Best Buy , Home Depot, Hooters, RadioShack, Starbucks, Waffle House, Coca-Cola and Wal-Mart .