[US] Store managers sue auto service chain over 52+ hour weeks with no overtime

In the US, national auto service chain Monro, Inc. is facing allegations that it overworked store managers and failed to pay overtime, HRD reports.

Two former Monro store managers have taken the company to court, alleging that it classified them as exempt employees while requiring them to work schedules which left little to no room for work-life balance. 

The lawsuit was reportedly filed on January 5 in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York against the company's Tire Choice Auto Service Centers brand.

Monro is a publicly traded company that operates more than 1,200 stores across 32 states and runs several brands, including Monro Auto Service, Mr. Tire, and Tire Choice. It employs approximately 300 store managers at its Tire Choice locations at any given time. 

The lawsuit seeks to represent both current and former managers over the past three years.

The dispute is over the question of when a manager stops being a manager.

The case alleges that Tire Choice made the store managers exempt despite their day-to-day work not meeting the Fair Labor Standards Act expectations for executive employees. 

Court documents reportedly state that these managers spent nearly all their time performing non-managerial manual labour, helping customers and working on vehicles.

Store managers were allegedly required to work a minimum of 52 hours per week. Plaintiffs Anthony Daley Speranza and Raymond Thomas Henry Jr allege that, in practice, they averaged around 12.5 hours a day, six days a week. 

Mr Speranza claims he worked from branch opening to close, seven days a week, from August to November 2023, taking just eight days off during his first six and a half months on the job.

The managers received no overtime pay. When all their actual hours worked are accounted for, their compensation amounted to somewhere between $15 and $17 an hour, according to the filing. The lawsuit highlights a labour allocation system which allegedly made long hours unavoidable. 

The plaintiffs are reportedly seeking unpaid overtime wages and additional damages. No determination on the case’s merits has been made, and it remains in its early stages.

Source: HRD

In the US, national auto service chain Monro, Inc. is facing allegations that it overworked store managers and failed to pay overtime, HRD reports.

Two former Monro store managers have taken the company to court, alleging that it classified them as exempt employees while requiring them to work schedules which left little to no room for work-life balance. 

The lawsuit was reportedly filed on January 5 in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York against the company's Tire Choice Auto Service Centers brand.

Monro is a publicly traded company that operates more than 1,200 stores across 32 states and runs several brands, including Monro Auto Service, Mr. Tire, and Tire Choice. It employs approximately 300 store managers at its Tire Choice locations at any given time. 

The lawsuit seeks to represent both current and former managers over the past three years.

The dispute is over the question of when a manager stops being a manager.

The case alleges that Tire Choice made the store managers exempt despite their day-to-day work not meeting the Fair Labor Standards Act expectations for executive employees. 

Court documents reportedly state that these managers spent nearly all their time performing non-managerial manual labour, helping customers and working on vehicles.

Store managers were allegedly required to work a minimum of 52 hours per week. Plaintiffs Anthony Daley Speranza and Raymond Thomas Henry Jr allege that, in practice, they averaged around 12.5 hours a day, six days a week. 

Mr Speranza claims he worked from branch opening to close, seven days a week, from August to November 2023, taking just eight days off during his first six and a half months on the job.

The managers received no overtime pay. When all their actual hours worked are accounted for, their compensation amounted to somewhere between $15 and $17 an hour, according to the filing. The lawsuit highlights a labour allocation system which allegedly made long hours unavoidable. 

The plaintiffs are reportedly seeking unpaid overtime wages and additional damages. No determination on the case’s merits has been made, and it remains in its early stages.

Source: HRD