Former Ralph Lauren staff launch class action lawsuit
Class action status was granted to four ex-employees of fashion house Polo Ralph Lauren. This compensation suit has the potential to let approximately 5,300 workers to participate in the case.
The complaint states that Polo Ralph Lauren failed to provide rest breaks, wrongly categorized all sales staff as commission-based earners who were excluded from receiving overtime pay and also unfairly used an arrears system that often reduced commission earnings.
San Francisco Judge Susan Ilston certified the case as a class action after hearing testimonies by the four former employees who brought the suit. She further divided two subclasses of plaintiffs: sales employees mislabeled as commissioned salespeople and sales staff that the company took back earned wages through its arrears program. Members of each category could win separate damages.
The class action certification includes any cashier or sales associate who faced this alleged violation from May 30 2002, to the present. According to court documents, Polo Ralph Lauren has 28 stores in the state.
According to the charges filed in May 2006, employees at the stores were discouraged or prevented from taking breaks. They also had to go through bag checks for stolen merchandise after they had clocked out. Apparently, they were kept after work in locked stores for as long as half an hour while their purses and bags were examined to make sure they weren’t stealing. The plaintiffs said they were not compensated for the time they were detained.
Both parties were ordered to enter mediation for the next 45 days, but the plaintiffs’ attorneys are willing to litigate if necessary. Patrick Kitchin, who is representing the plaintiffs, is a well-known attorney who previously successfully led other class actions from employees.
A spokesperson for Polo Ralph Lauren said that the company did not wish to comment on this at all.
For more information on the lawsuit, go to www.poloclassaction.com
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