Home Depot overtime lawsuit denied class action status

A multi-state lawsuit against Home Depot for allegedly not paying its workers overtime has been split up, meaning the two New Hampshire plaintiffs will have to stand on their own against the Atlanta-based corporation.The original suit, filed in Connecticut June 14, 2011, alleged that nearly 50 employees in six states were required to work overtime without getting overtime pay. It was the aftermath of a previous class action suit that failed in U.S. District Court in New Jersey.Many of these workers were known as “Merchandizing Assistant Store Managers,” the complaint said, but most of their duties consisted of such jobs as packing and unpacking freight, setting products, cleaning bathrooms, picking up garbage, returning shopping carts and running registers, the complaint said.The workers were required to work 55 hours a week, but many worked more than that, the complaint said — a violation of both state and federal law.Two of the plaintiffs – Frank Morris and William T. Gover – are New Hampshire, though the complaint doesn’t specify which stores they were working out of and when they worked there.Home Depot has not responded to the specific allegations in the case, but did move in January to break up it up, which the court agreed to in April. The case, however, was only officially transferred on Monday.Unless the case is settled, it is far from over. The trial briefs aren’t due until September, and no date has been set for an actual trial. — BOB SANDERS/NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS REVIEW