Casey’s General Stores Inc., already sued by managers who claimed they weren’t paid overtime, faces a new lawsuit in federal court by cooks and cashiers making similar claims.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court said the Ankeny, Iowa-based chain wrongfully denied overtime pay and wages to current and former Casey’s hourly employees. It alleges that Casey’s violated federal and state law by working cooks and cashiers off-the-clock to avoid paying overtime wages as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act and state laws, the Sioux City (Iowa) Journal. Court documents allege about 20,000 employees are included in the class and said claims exceed $5 million.
Casey’s has more than 1,460 stores in seven Midwest states including Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
The workers claim they were asked to perform tasks before and after their shifts including cleaning, counting the cash register and selling items to customers, the report said. They also claim they were denied mandatory meal and rest breaks. The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and unpaid back wages, liquidated damages allowed under federal labor statutes, certification of class action and equitable relief as permitted under individual state laws.
Last May, two assistant managers filed a lawsuit claiming the company heavily relied on assistant managers to pick up the slack and keep stores running but failed to pay overtime. In that case, the employees also sought class action status saying thousands of current and former managers could be involved, the report said. The company filed documents in that case in which it denied improper conduct. The company said it acted in good faith and relied on state labor regulations and made a good faith effort to comply with federal labor standards.
