Les Schwab could be on the hook for millions of dollars in fines after a jury in Portland decided today that the company failed to appropriately compensate assistant managers for overtime work.
The Bend-based tire company pushed its assistant managers to work an average of 66 hours per week without receiving overtime pay, the jury ruled. Oregon’s wage laws require employers to pay workers time and a half for work outside of a standard 40-hour work week.
Leadership at Les Schwab has asserted that this law did not apply to assistant managers and they will appeal today’s verdict, according to statement released by the company.
Les Schwab is the second Oregon company in the news this week for alleged violations of labor-related laws. Typhoon! closed all five of its restaurants and all other aspects of its business last weekend after Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industry filed charges against the company for its treatment of employees recruited from Thailand.
A determination of the amount Les Schwab owes to the more than 200 assistant managers involved in the legal action should be paid in the coming months.
This article appears in Feb 9-15, 2012.
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Are these Assistant Managers on salary or hourly? It seems like pretty cut and dry situation. there must be some weird loophole that they are trying to take advantage of.
So, you take a salary position working for a company that has the reputation for working hard, long days. You get excellent benefits and a profit sharing bonus that doubles your salary. Then you sue and people feel bad for you and your decision making… how about 25 hrs a week, no benefits, no profit sharing, no paid vacation, no matching retirement, no nothing but a colored apron and a messed up work schedule.