Happy Monday! This made me vomit in my mouth a little bit.
Forever 21 Class Action Lawsuit Filed by Employees
Forever 21 is being sued yet again. But this time, it's not other fashion brands claiming copyright infringement -- it's the company's own workers, who say their employer systematically failed to pay them for hours worked.
On Wednesday in San Francisco Superior Court, five employees -- four former, one current -- filed a class action lawsuit against the company, seeking damages for the hours that Forever 21 made them work off the clock, and for the meal breaks that they were denied.
Jazzreeal Jones, Jessica Ramos, Shanelle Thompson, Alyssa Elias and Tiffinee Linthicum, represented by Norton & Melnik, APC, and Kitchin Legal, claim in court filings that they were frequently kept at stores during lunch breaks and after the ends of their shifts while they were searched for stolen merchandise. Because the employees had already clocked out, this amounts to unpaid labor. Moreover, these unpaid hours could add up to millions in damages should other employees turn out to have suffered the same treatment.
According to court filings, employee bag checks are part of Forever 21's loss prevention policy.
continue reading at Huffington Post via Fashionologie
Let's leave aside the whole "suffered the same treatment" notion for just one second because I can't...
Forever 21 should countersue for the hours these same employees spent on their phones, on facebook, on twitter, talking instead of folding, smoke breaks, time spent changing clothes in the bathroom, etc.
Maybe if the employees did their job in the fitting room the company wouldn't have to be so concerned about their shrink.
Maybe companies would hire more in a bad economy if they weren't worried about being sued by every Tom, Dick, and Jazzreeal.
Maybe.
It warms my heart to see where employee rights law has come in such a short amount of time. From protecting women who were locked in their workrooms for 24 hour shifts then burned alive to making sure Tiffinee doesn't have to be in her place of employment for one additional second in order to help them ensure they keep their costs at a minimum thereby guaranteeing that she gets to keep her job.
Okay, say they win the lawsuit and Forever 21 has to pay. Then to compensate the price of tank tops goes up again so really don't we all lose in the end?
What do you think? Are the employees justified here?
