Victoria’s Secret To Pay $12M To Underpaid Sales Associates

Elizabeth DiNardo, Esq. | Associate Counsel

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On June 8, 2017, Victoria’s Secret Stores LLC agreed to pay workers $12M to settle proposed class claims that the lingerie giant failed to pay retail employees who were scheduled for “call-in” shifts. The class was made up of an estimated 40,000 disgruntled employees.

The suit originated in 2014 when named plaintiffs Mayra Casas and Julio Fernandez alleged Victoria Secret owed unpaid wages to sales clerks who were scheduled to work but were consequently sent home once they arrived. Similarly, some clerks accused the company of cheating employees out of pay for shifts in which they had to call in two hours ahead of their scheduled start time to see whether or not they would be required to actually appear for work that day. According to a California labor law wage order, employees who are required to call into a store two hours before a scheduled shift to determine if they were going to be working said shift qualify as having “reported” to work.

However, in December 2014 U.S. District Judge George H. Wu issued a tentative ruling indicating he would dismiss the 28,000 “call-in” claims because according to the plain meaning of the law, if employees didn’t actually show up to work then they were not entitled to any compensation. The plaintiffs appealed to the Ninth Circuit where the settlement was eventually reached before any ruling was issued.

The settlement will provide cash payments to class members based on how long they worked for the company, enhancement payments to the lead plaintiffs, attorneys’ fees and expenses and a payment to California regulators under the Private Attorneys General Act.

Victoria’s Secret still maintains its innocence and has denied the aforementioned claims as stated in the actual motion.

The case is Mayra Casas v. Victoria’s Secret Stores LLC, case number 2:14-cv-06412, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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