Facts

Lucas Mejia was an employee of Walgreens Co. in California. Mehia eventually filed a class action lawsuit against Walgreens under California's Private Attorneys General Act.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS: Plaintiffs contended that defendant failed to provide proper payment to employees because they rounded employees' hours down on their timecards. Defendant also failed to pay for overtime hours and required off-the-clock security checks. The security checks were usually done before or after plaintiffs' shifts and were not compensated by defendant.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant denied the contentions.

Result

The court approved a $4.5 million settlement between the parties. The amount included a $2.83 million amount to be distributed among the 2,650 California employees that comprised the class. Class counsel received $1.5 million in fees and $15,000 in costs. Lucas Meija received a $7,500 service award as the named plaintiff. The court also approved $150,000 of the total settlement amount to be paid as PAGA penalties and $35,000 for administrative costs.

Other Information

The parties have a final fairness conference scheduled for Monday, March 22, 2021.