Confidential

Facts

The complaint charged that Abercrombie & Fitch improperly classified its Store Managers as exempt to avoid paying overtime, even though their duties entitled them to overtime pay. The Store Managers were not paid overtime even though they worked well over eight hours in a day and 40 hours in a week. The class consisted of about 250 Store Managers across California who had worked at Abercrombie & Fitch stores between July 10, 1998 and April 30, 2004.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiffs argued that Store Managers spent more than 50 percent of their time performing non-managerial tasks. They did largely the same work as the hourly employees who did receive overtime pay: fold clothes, clean the store, cashier, and assist customers. Under California law, the Executive Exemption does not apply if a manager spends more than 50 percent of his or her time performing non-managerial tasks. Thus, the plaintiffs contended that these employees were misclassified and should receive overtime pay.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
The defendant contended that the Store Managers were engaged in management tasks for over half their work day and therefore properly classified as exempt from receiving overtime.

Result

Settlement: $2,000,000.