Former Speedway SuperAmerica Employees File Suit

Twin Cities, MNTwo former hourly employees of the Speedway SuperAmerica stores, one of whom worked at the Twin Cities, Minnesota location, allege that they were not paid overtime for the extra hours that they worked. These allegations also state that the company had knowledge of this unpaid overtime.

Now the two employees, Tina Dado and Constantine Thompson, have filed a lawsuit in St. Paul seeking the wages they were not paid in addition to unspecified damages. The two are seeking class-action status for their lawsuit. They say that co-managers, former and current assistant managers, and even shift leaders that have been employed by the company within the past three years are affected. The attorney for the plaintiffs said that the lawsuit could possibly involve thousands of employees.

Thompson has alleged that he was forced to work "off the clock" at multiple Speedway locations. He says that those locations are in Maple Grove, Brooklyn Park, and Mounds View. He said he took phone calls that were related to store business and never received pay for that work. He has further stated that the additional time spent in the store without being paid interfered with his family life and that he has made an unpaid contribution to the success of the stores.

The positions that were held by the employees paid anywhere from $8 to $10 per hour and each were scheduled for 40-hour work weeks. Attorney Jon Tostrud has said that the employees were hourly employees and they were to be paid for every hour worked. They were not salaried employees who are paid a specified amount of money no matter how much work they perform.

According to the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that they worked several hours each week beyond their scheduled hours. Those hours were worked "off the clock". They also allege that they would receive phone calls while at home that related to customer complaints, problems with the computer and registers, store alarms, and shifts that were missed. They would respond to these calls by returning to the store to address the issue at hand. However, they were not compensated for the time that they spent responding to the calls. They say they were also required to work through their breaks and meal periods without being paid for the time.

They further allege that the company did not accurately record the hours that were worked and that they were encouraged to work off of the clock. They have said that they were directed to perform various tasks that resulted in many hours worked overtime.

The Ohio-based Marathon Petroleum Co. subsidiary has not offered any comment on the case. Spokeswoman Linda Casey has said that they do not comment on pending litigation. It has yet to be determined when the case will find itself in court.

By: Ginger Gillenwater