BJ's Wholesale Knowingly Failed to Pay Overtime and Minimum Wage Employee Alleges

Natick, Mass. – A Massachusetts-based bulk retailer is being sued by one of its Ohio employees for allegedly failing to pay him and others their full wages.

BJ’s Wholesale Club, incorporated in Natick, Mass., is claimed to have known it was violating federal and state laws on overtime and minimum wage, respectively.

Johnny Nieves who manages a meat department at a BJ’s superstore in Ohio filed the suit at the US District Court in Boston on July 31.

According to the complaint, Nieves is one of potentially 250 BJ’s employees who could also be considered a class in this lawsuit, though the full number will not be known until the discovery phase of the case.
Nieves is seeking unpaid wages, damages, “and to ensure that they and future workers will not be subjected by Defendant to such illegal conduct in the future.”

Working at a BJ’s superstore in Ohio since 2000 until the present, Nieves is the manager of the meat department at the outlet.

The complaint alleges, “Plaintiff and Collective Class rarely perform any managerial responsibilities or exercise independent judgment,” and that the plaintiff alone “often worked between 5 and 20 hours in excess of 40 hours per workweek,” without receiving statutory compensation.

It also alleges that the “Defendant failed to keep and maintain accurate and sufficient time records…”

Open Media Boston reported a similar allegation against Avis car rental last month, where employeesclaim they were misclassified as management by the company to avoid paying them overtime rates.

In a significant allegation, the complaint claims that BJ’s was in full knowledge of the alleged wage violation.

It says that “in 2008 a Department Manager initiated a nearly identical action against Defendant contending the company violated the FLSA [federal Fair Labor Standards Act] and various state wage and hour laws by failing to pay its Department Managers and Assistant Managers for work performed.”

The complaint refers to a case filed by Kevin Caissie against BJ’s Wholesale Club at the US District Court in Springfield, Mass. in 2008, and claims that a settlement of “over $9 million [was] paid to the class members and their lawyers.”

It alleges, “As a result, Defendant knew or should have known that failing to pay its Department Managers and Assistant Managers violates the FLSA. Nonetheless, Defendant continues to adhere to the policy and practice of failing to pay the Plaintiff and Collective Class overtime wages. In short, Defendant’s decision to not pay the Plaintiff and Collective Class for overtime hours worked in excess of forty (40) hours within a workweek can only be described as willful.”

It further alleges, “The Collective Class members are victims of a uniform and company-wide enterprise which operates to compensate employees at a rate less than the federally mandated overtime wage rate.”

The defendant has yet to file an answer to the complaint, or to appoint an attorney; an e-mail sent to BJ’s press office by for comment by Open Media Boston was not returned.

The case will be heard by Judge William Young.

This article was produced for Open Media Boston's Open Court Project.