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Starbucks Store Manager Overtime Pay Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: Trevor Hopman filed a class action lawsuit against Starbucks Coffee Canada, Inc.
- Why: Hopman claims Starbucks misclassifies its store managers as being exempt from receiving overtime pay.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
A class action lawsuit claiming Starbucks Coffee Canada misclassifies its store managers as being exempt from overtime pay, violating their employment contracts, has commenced in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
Plaintiff Trevor Hopman claims Starbucks store managers are not exempt from earning overtime pay under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) since they are required to perform “non-supervisory or non-managerial tasks on a regular and non-exceptional basis.”
The ESA requires a business to pay its employees overtime if they work more than 44 hours a week, with exemptions in place for supervisors or managers who perform non-managerial or non-supervisor tasks on an “irregular” basis, according to the class action lawsuit.
Hopman, who worked as a store manager at Starbucks from 2010 to 2017, wants to represent a Class of current and former Starbucks store managers who worked at an Ontario location between Oct. 1, 2014 and the date of class certification.
Hopman argues Starbucks store managers should be classified as “working managers,” meaning they regularly work alongside the co-workers they manage while performing the same “non-exempt” duties.
“Such ‘working managers’ are entitled to overtime for hours worked beyond 44 hours per week in the same manner as the employees they supervise,” states the class action lawsuit.
Starbucks Store Managers Required To Perform ‘Floor Duties’
Hopman claims store managers at Starbucks are required to perform non-supervisory and non-managerial duties every week, regardless of “store location, size, or individual preference.”
Known as “coverage hours,” store managers are required to work 26 hours per week performing floor duties such as washing dishes, preparing drinks, serving customers, opening and closing the store, and answering phones, among other things.
“The Class Members perform these duties within the ordinary course of their employment on a routine and regular basis every week, as required by the Defendant and as contemplated by its standard policies,” states the class action lawsuit.
Hopman claims Starbucks is guilty of unjust enrichment, systemic negligence, and systemic breach of contract. He is demanding a jury trial and requesting an award of aggravated, exemplary, and punitive damages for himself and all Class Members.
The class action lawsuit was formally certified on Feb. 17. A certification hearing had originally been set for January, before being rescheduled.
Have you been denied overtime pay at your place of employment? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiff is represented by Charles Sinclair, Christine Davies, Joshua Mandryk, and Geetha Philipupillai of Goldblatt Partners LLP.
The Starbucks Store Manager Overtime Pay Class Action Lawsuit is Hopman v. Starbucks Coffee Canada, Inc., Case No. CV-20-00645265, in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
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