Publix sued over accusations of work off the clock without pay

A lawsuit has been filed against Publix with allegations that the store consistently required hourly assistant department managers to work off the clock without being paid.

The suit was filed Thursday in Florida federal court.

The plaintiffs, who worked as assistant department managers at Publix stores in Florida, Tennessee, and Georgia, allege that Publix failed to pay them for hundreds of overtime hours.

Specifically, the plaintiffs allege they were compelled to complete various tasks inside stores before and after clocking out and were expected to answer colleagues’ texts after hours and during unpaid lunch breaks.

Plaintiffs said Publix owes them overtime pay for these off-the-clock hours.

The lawsuit proposes a collective action under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act to include similarly affected employees who worked within the past three years across Publix’s 1,300 locations throughout the Southeastern United States.

Any affected Publix assistant department managers can join the collective action.

According to a release by Morgan & Morgan and Shavitz Law Group, they represent and have been contacted by dozens of affected employees who worked in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina who experienced the same issues.