CHARLESTON, W. Va.–Members of the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400 Union in Virginia and West Virginia employed by Kroger in the Mid-Atlantic region have filed a class-action lawsuit alleging their employer has persistent payroll problems that have amounted to “wage theft.”
Matthew Handley, of Handley Farah & Anderson PLLC, represents the workers and said the lawsuit is in response to what he called the “chaotic rollout” of their new MyTime payroll system. UFCW officials have received more than 1,000 reports of payroll problems and believe there are many more that have gone unreported.
“One woman in West Virginia who started at Kroger, worked for four weeks and didn’t get paid at all during that four weeks that she did had to quit because she was working for free,” Handley said.
Handley said the problems have varied from simple errors to incorrect pay rates, incorrect withholdings, and problems with insurance. The real issue has developed not due to the problems, but rather because of the lack of action by Kroger over time to correct the problems.
“It’s been please wait and we’ll work it our,” Handley said. “But for some of these workers, they couldn’t wait any longer, and that’s why we filed the lawsuit.”
According to Handley, there will likely be state and federal violations that will increase the damage payout if the lawsuit is successful. But unlike residents of Virginia included in the lawsuit, who would receive up to three times their pay, West Virginia residents will have to rely on those federal provisions to increase the damage award.
“Under West Virginia law, most likely they’re entitled to only what they’re owed,” Handley said. “But, the federal law could be a backstop to get them additional damages.”
Handley believes similar lawsuits are soon to be filed in Washington and Oregon regarding the same situation. It’s possible that the resolution in the Mid-Atlantic could be a precedent for other Kroger workers throughout the country.
“We hope to help Kroger facilitate a resolution to this and one that will satisfy the workforce and get everybody compensated as they are entitled to,” Handley said.
MetroNews has not yet received comment from Kroger officials.