Home Depot to pay $72.5 mln to settle California wage class action

Applied Energetics

23/06/2023 14:25

By Jonathan Stempel
       June 23 (Reuters) - Home Depot  HD.N  has agreed to pay
$72.5 million to end a long-running class-action lawsuit
alleging the largest U.S. home improvement retailer underpaid
workers in California.
    The preliminary settlement was filed late Thursday in a San
Francisco federal court, and requires a judge's approval.
    Half of the settlement, after taking out legal fees and
costs, goes to hourly employees who worked closing shifts and
were required to wait off-the-clock after stores were locked.
    Another 41% goes to employees who were not paid for time
needed to collect and put on aprons, and 9% goes to employees
who lost pay because Home Depot rounded their clock-in and
clock-out times to the nearest quarter hour.
    The settlement covers more than 272,000 people employed by
Home Depot in California since March 8, 2012 and is "fair,
reasonable and adequate," the plaintiffs' lawyers said.
    Home Depot denied wrongdoing, but settled to avoid the
burden, cost and uncertainty of litigation, court papers show.
    The Atlanta-based retailer said on Friday that it was glad
to settle, so it could focus on serving employees and customers.
    Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to
requests for comment.
    The lawsuit began in March 2016, and a trial had been
scheduled for this year.
    Lawyers for the plaintiffs plan to seek up to $24.2 million,
or one-third of the settlement amount, for legal fees, plus up
to $3.5 million for expenses.
    The case is Utne v Home Depot USA Inc, U.S. District Court,
Northern District of California, No. 16-01854.   

 (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by
Alexander Smith)
 ((jon.stempel@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6317; Reuters
Messaging: jon.stempel.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))