Disgruntled Employees Sue Dollar Tree Alleging Florida Employment Violations

Fort Lauderdale, FLFlorida employees of a retail chain that operates in 48 states and posted record sales last year is being taken to court by disgruntled employees who claim they have been stiffed out of wages. A lawsuit was filed September 1st alleging violations under Florida employment laws on behalf of assistant managers and others "similarly situated" against Dollar Tree stores.

The lawsuit was filed in US District Court in Southern Florida.

The Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel reported October 27th that Dollar Tree employees Joan Badgett and Solomon Morgan filed the original lawsuit, which has since been joined by other plaintiffs. The two former assistant managers allege that Dollar Tree failed to pay them minimum wage and overtime according to Florida Labor Law, and asked even more of them "off the clock." In other words, performing tasks at the behest of the employer without compensation.

To that end, the hourly workers claim that Dollar Tree asked employees to make trips to a bank on the store's behalf "off the clock," and were also required to work through their lunch hour without pay.

Under Florida employment law, workers 18 years of age and over are not necessarily entitled to a lunch break. However, according to legal counsel for the two plaintiffs, an employer cannot require employees to perform Florida labor during their lunch break and then dock them pay.

Florida's minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.

The Sun Sentinel reports that Dollar Tree is a publicly traded company based in Chesapeake, Virginia. The company's Web site notes that Dollar Tree operates 3,961 stores in 48 states. The Sun Sentinel notes that the retailer posted record sales of $5.23 billion last year, an increase of 12.5 percent over 2008.

The lawsuit alleges violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). It's not like the FLSA is anything new, either. It's been around since 1938 and applies to any business with annual sales at, or exceeding, $500,000.

Legal counsel for the plaintiffs note that Dollar Tree has been sued for wage violations under Florida state labor laws in the past.

Florida itself has the dubious distinction of leading the pack in FLSA lawsuits last year with about 2,000 new cases filed in 2009 alleging Florida labor and employment law violations, according to court records. As its name implies, Dollar Tree is a discount chain.