Stewart’s Shops Under Fire With Federal Judge

Are you paid for all of the hours you work? It sounds like a dumb question, but it turns out that some Stewart's Shops employees are alleging that they have not been paid in full. It's enough that a class action suit has been filed and certified by a federal judge. So what's going on?

With 335 stores in upstate New York and Vermont, Stewart's has been the workplace for many hourly employees since they first opened their doors in 1945. But now they are under the microscope with a federal judge.

The lawsuit seemingly began in January of 2014 when a former employee stated she, along with others had not been paid for all of the hours that they worked. In this lawsuit they were seeking $20 million dollars in damages along with a class action suit for previous hourly employees of the last 3-years.

Maria D'Amelia, a spokeswoman for Stewart's released a statement:

“Two-thirds of the original charges brought against us have already been denied class status. We feel strongly that the remaining will be denied class status as well, once all the evidence can be considered. It should be noted that with federal law, letters to employees have to go out before a judge can review the evidence. These notices are solely a step in the process and in no way an admission or indication of guilt. It is unfortunate that we have to go through this process, as this same change on the state level has already been thrown out. We value our partners, who are part owners in our company, and have a long history of being fair to them, both with pay and benefits."

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