BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear the appeal of a federal jury's verdict in Alabama that led to the awarding of more than $33 million to 1,424 current and former employees of Family Dollar stores.
The action means the decision awarding the Family Dollar employees for unpaid overtime wages will stand.
"Simply stated, justice has been served," said lead attorney Gregory O. Wiggins of the Birmingham-based law firm Wiggins Childs Quinn & Pantazis.
The jury found in a 2006 federal court trial in Tuscaloosa that North Carolina-based Family Dollar classified many workers as managers even though their duties included tasks like mopping floors and unloading trucks.
"The evidence presented to the jury proved that the managers for Family Dollar were clearly nothing more than working foremen," Wiggins said. "This case should send a strong message to Family Dollar and other retail companies that simply because you give people the title of store manager, it does not make them exempt from overtime pay."
Family Dollar officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Company officials had argued during the trial that the managers were properly classified because their duties included hiring and training employees, overseeing customer service and the "financial performance" of the store.
The lawsuit was originally filed by an employee of a Family Dollar store in Childersburg, Ala.
Family Dollar operates more than 6,000 stores in 44 states.
The company appealed the original court decision. The 11th U.S. Court of Appeals upheld that verdict in December 2008, and the company appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The jury awarded the employees $19.1 million, but U.S. District Judge U.W. Clemon increased the amount to $33.2 million. Attorneys for the employees say the amount of the verdict has increased to $35.6 million because of interest.
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