A judge in California has approved a class-action overtime lawsuit filed by employees of The Hershey Company.

According to court documents, Judge Bernard Zimmerman, of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, has ruled that all Retail Sales Representatives employed by The Hershey Company in the United States from August 2007 through the present may join a lawsuit seeking past overtime pay. In the coming weeks, a court approved notice will be mailed to the last known address of every Retail Sales Representative. Representatives must join the lawsuit no later than December 1, 2010.

Hershey is legally prohibited from retaliating against any present or past Retail Sales Representative for joining the case.

The lawsuit contented that sales representatives were consistently working well-over 40 hours per week and employees could be entitled to as much as $500 for each week worked since August 2007.

If you feel you have not been given the overtime payment you deserve, you should contact an Overtime Collection Attorney of Tycko & Zavareei, LLP., by calling 202-973-0900.

A group of sales workers at NutriSystem Inc. has failed to convince a federal appeals court to revive their lawsuit for overtime pay despite winning the support of the United States’ Department of Labor.

According to court documents filed in the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the court voted 2-1 to uphold a lower court’s ruling that the company’s pay scheme qualifies for the “retail commission exception” in the Fair Labor Standards Act. The dissenting judge, however, says he would have deferred to the Labor Department view that NutriSystem’s pay scheme is not exempt because the overtime paid to an employee is not “proportionally related” to the amount charged to the customer.

The group of employees argued that since NutriSystem call center workers are paid a “flat rate” for every order, their pay is comparable to the “piecework” wages paid to some factory workers.

If you feel you have not been given the overtime payment you deserve, you should contact an Overtime Collection Lawyer of Tycko & Zavareei, LLP., by calling 202-973-0900.

Zumiez Inc. has increased the settlement cost of a class action overtime lawsuit in California from $1.3 million to $2.1 million.

According to documents filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Everett-based you apparel retailer said “the lawsuit is similar to numerous lawsuits filed against retailers and others with operations in California. Although the company believes that the allegations in the lawsuit lack merit, it has agreed to a mediator’s proposal to settle the claims in the lawsuit to avoid significant legal fees, other expenses and management time that would have to be devoted to protracted litigation.

According to fourth-quarter earnings published by the company, the settlement increase means a jump in operating loss from last quarter’s $2.1 million to $2.4 million. The company is reporting a net loss for the quarter of $1.2 million and reducing its diluted earnings per share by 4 cents.

If you feel you have not been given the overtime payment you deserve, you should contact an Overtime Collection Attorney of Tycko & Zavareei, LLP., by calling 202-973-0900.

A police sergeant is suing the city of Chicago for two years of overtime back pay because he had to continue working on his BlackBerry phone after his shift ended.

According to court documents. Sgt. Jeffrey Allen of the Chicago Police Department claims he is owed serious compensation for thee extra work he completed and was required to put on his mobile device. Allen’s attorney, Paul Geiger, said his clients job essentially required off-duty work on his PDA. “What we are saying is he’s using the mobile device at the behest of the Police Department very routinely and very often off-duty and not being compensated for all the time spent on the device doing the city’s work,” said Geiger.

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley criticized the lawsuit, calling it “silliness in time of economic crisis.” He added, “we’d have to take all the BlackBerrys away from public servants.”

If you feel you have not been given the overtime payment you deserve, you should contact an Overtime Collection Lawyer of Tycko & Zavareei, LLP., by calling 202-973-0900.

Two brothers who own a chain of Los Angeles car washes were sentenced to prison and ordered to pay $1.25 million in unpaid wages to 54 workers in a wage left lawsuit.

According to court documents, Benny and Nissan Pirian each pleaded no contest Friday to six criminal counts, including conspiracy, grand theft, and several labor code violations. They were each sentenced to one year in prison and ordered to pay restitution.

Deputy City Attorney Julia Figueira-McDonough called the lawsuit a “landmark” case. “What occurred at the car washes doesn’t fit the technical definition of ‘indentured servitude,’” Figueira-McDonough said. “But people worked for years without receiving the minimum wage or overtime; they worked in hazardous conditions where they were regularly exposed to chemicals and not provided with safety equipment to prevent injury. They weren’t provided with drinking water… It was really a sweatshop.”

According to the criminal complaint, workers received a flat rate of $35 or $40 a day – far below the federal and state minimum wages. Workers were also denied overtime pay.

If you feel you have not been given the overtime payment you deserve, you should contact an Overtime Collection Attorney of Tycko & Zavareei, LLP., by calling 202-973-0900.

Department of Corrections employees have filed a class action lawsuit against the Department of Administration after a 12 week delay in overtime payment.

According to court documents, ten employees of DepCor claim that officers have not been paid their $1 million in overtime, as well as being behind on hazardous pay and night differential. Attorney Dan Somerfleck, representation for the employees, said DepCor is ignoring its workers. “They’re working and not being paid at all. It would be one thing if they were getting paid their regular salary but they’re not even getting paid their regular hourly wage when they work overtime. They are getting paid nothing.”

“Here they are working and putting in extra hours and they have nothing to show for it,” said Somerfleck. “Another thing that comes into play with this is these correction workers have families and obligations to make.”

The Governor’s Office says about $500,000 has been transferred into DepCor’s account to pay for the overtime but the release of any funds is a stand still pending a review by a company director.

If you feel you have not been given the overtime payment you deserve, you should contact an Overtime Collection Lawyer of Tycko & Zavareei, LLP., by calling 202-973-0900. Know your rights and your options, and be sure to discuss your case with a legal professional today.