HARDESTY ET AL. V.
THE KROGER CO. ET AL.
Welcome to the Hardesty et al. v. The Kroger Co. et al. overtime litigation website, an informational website provided by class counsel at Stagnaro, Saba & Patterson, Co., L.P.A. for all current or potential class members in this case. Hardesty et al. v. The Kroger Co., et al. is a lawsuit brought on behalf of all current and former individuals employed as “Recruiters” at Kroger’s Center of Recruiting Excellence ("CoRE") in Blue Ash, Ohio, from October 2014 to the present. Class members contend that Kroger improperly classified its CoRE Recruiters as “exempt” from overtime, in an effort to avoid paying additional wages for hours worked in excess of forty (40) hours per week. Such conduct violates both Federal and State wage and hour laws and entitles class members to compensation for all overtime hours worked.
Please contact class counsel at 513-533-6710, or e-mail class counsel at krogerovertimelawsuit@sspfirm.com for more information on this lawsuit.
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LATEST NEWS
November 19, 2018
Judge Black has issued a decision on the parties’ respective motions for
certification and decertification. In this order, Judge Black denied Kroger’s
motion to decertify the FLSA collective action, thus maintaining the claims of
any individuals who submitted Opt-In Consent Forms to this case. This means if you previously submitted
an Opt-In Consent Form to our office, you and others who also submitted such
forms will proceed forward as a collective action for purposes of your unpaid
overtime claims. If you are not certain whether you submitted such a
form, please contact our office and we will confirm for you.
Unfortunately, in the same order Judge Black also denied our
motion to certify class members’ similar Ohio Wage Claims under Federal Rule of
Civil Procedure 23. In effect, this means if you did not submit an
Opt-In Consent Form for purposes of this litigation, you are not a member of
the FLSA collective action, and your rights to overtime compensation under Ohio
law will need to be asserted separately. There are time limits to asserting
such claims and, while such claims are generally tolled pending a motion for class
certification, that tolling period ends once class certification has been
denied. If you are seeking to pursue such claims separately, you should
immediately contact an attorney to ensure you preserve those claims.
While we are happy with Judge Black’s decision to maintain
the certification of all FLSA class members’ claims, we disagree with the
decision to deny certification of the Ohio claims. The Sixth Circuit Court of
Appeals has declined to grant a petition for review of Judge Black’s decision,
however there are further avenues of appeal following a final judgment in the
case. We will review such options and others as this case proceeds. Thank you
for everyone’s participation in this matter, and we will continue to update you
as this matter proceeds.
Read the the full decision here.
June 19, 2018
We are providing an update as to the pending litigation in Hardesty et al. v. The Kroger Co. et al. Class/Collective Action Litigation. At this time, the Class/Collective Action is still pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio before Judge Black. The parties fully briefed respective motions for class certification and decertification in August 2017, however we are awaiting a decision from the Court before the litigation can proceed further. We will update you once a decision has been rendered.
September 07, 2017
Briefing of the parties respective motions to certify/decertify has now been completed. Copies of the respective briefings can be found at the links below:
Briefing on Class Certification under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a) and 23(b)(3)
1. Named Plaintiff’s Motion for Rule 23 Class Certification
2. Defendant Kroger’s Memorandum in Opposition
3. Named Plaintiff’s Reply in Support of Rule 23 Class Certification
Briefing on Decertification of Named Plaintiffs’ FLSA Claims
1. Defendant Kroger’s Motion for Decertification
2. Named Plaintiff’s Memorandum in Opposition to Motion for Decertification
3. Defendant Kroger’s Reply in Support of Decertification
Now that each motion has been fully briefed, the parties await a decision from the Court regarding class certification. We will inform you once such a decision has been reached.
If you would like more information regarding this litigation, please contact class counsel at 513-533-6710 or krogerovertimelawsuit@sspfirm.com.
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PLAINTIFFS FILE MOTION TO CERTIFY OHIO CLAIMS; KROGER FILES MOTION TO DECERTIFY
June 19, 2017
On June 9, 2017, the Named Plaintiffs filed their Motion for Class Certification under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a) and 23(b)(3) for the Ohio wage claims in this case. Simultaneously, Defendant Kroger has filed its Motion for Decertification of the FLSA claims conditionally certified by the Court on July 19, 2016. Pursuant to the Court’s Amended Scheduling Order, the Named Plaintiffs and Defendant are required to file their respective Memoranda in Opposition to the motions on July 28, 2017, with final Reply Memoranda to be filed by August 28, 2017. A copy of the Named Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification can be found here and the Defendant’s Motion for Decertification can be found here.
If you would like more information regarding this litigation, please contact class counsel at 513-533-6710 or krogerovertimelawsuit@sspfirm.com.
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KROGER AND THE NAMED PLAINTIFFS AGREE TO ATTEND MEDIATION
March 27, 2017
Kroger and the Named Plaintiffs have agreed to attend mediation in an attempt to resolve the class and collective action claims in this matter. This mediation will take place on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 before Mediator John R. Van Winkle.
Because of this upcoming mediation, the parties jointly proposed, and the Court approved, an extension of applicable deadlines with respect to the upcoming briefing schedule. This includes the deadlines under which the Named Plaintiffs may submit their Motion for Rule 23 Class Certification, and the deadline for Defendant Kroger to submit a Motion for Decertification of the Named Plaintiffs’ certified FLSA collective action claims. Per the Amended Calendar Order, both motion deadlines are extended to June 9, 2017. A copy of the Parties’ Joint Motion to Amend Calendar Order can be found here and the Court’s approved Amended Calendar Order can be found here.
If you would like more information regarding this litigation, please contact class counsel at 513-533-6710 or krogerovertimelawsuit@sspfirm.com.
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RULE 23 CERTIFICATION AND FLSA DECERTIFICATION BRIEFING SCHEDULE EXTENDED
February 3, 2017
On January 30, 2017, Judge Black granted the parties’ Agreed Motion to Extend the Rule 23 Certification and FLSA Decertification Briefing Schedule. A copy of the Agreed Motion can be found here: 2017.01.27.Agreed Motion to Extend Rule 23 Deadlines.Dkt 27. In addition to the Named Plaintiffs’ Federal wage claims under the FLSA, which were conditionally certified by the Court on July 19, 2016, the Named Plaintiffs have also brought wage claims under Ohio wage laws which have not yet been certified. The Named Plaintiffs deadline for filing a motion to certify with respect to these Ohio wage claims was originally set for March 3, 2017, but has now been extended to April 7, 2017 upon agreement of the parties. Additionally, Kroger’s deadline with respect to filing a motion to de-certify the Federal wage claims under the FLSA is also extended to April 7, 2017.
If you would like more information regarding this litigation, please contact class counsel at 513-533-6710 or krogerovertimelawsuit@sspfirm.com.
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NOTICE PERIOD FOR OPT-IN CLASS MEMBERS IS NOW CLOSED
January 5, 2017
The period that potential class members had to join the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) collective action litigation against Kroger has now closed. All potential class members should have received a “Notice of Opportunity to Join Collective Action” for the FLSA claims via ordinary or electronic mail, and had 90 days in which to submit their opt-in consent forms. The majority of putative class members were required to return their opt-in consent forms on or before November 10, 2016, while 8 additional putative class members who received late notice had until January 4, 2017 to submit their opt-in consent forms. If you never received the “Notice of Opportunity to Join Collective Action,” please contact class counsel at 513-533-6710 or krogerovertimelawsuit@sspfirm.com.
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JUDGE BLACK ISSUES AGREED ORDER PROVIDING SUPPLEMENTAL NOTICE TO 8 ADDITIONAL PUTATIVE CLASS MEMBERS
October 5, 2016
On October 5, 2016, Judge Timothy Black issued an Order providing supplemental notice to 8 additional class members which Kroger claimed to have inadvertently omitted from its class member list provided to Plaintiffs. These 8 class members have an additional 90 days from the date they receive the supplemental notice to mail in their Consent Forms.
Unfortunately, the time period for the eight individuals identified has now closed. However, if you believe you are a member of this class and have still not received notice or an opt-in consent form, please contact class counsel immediately at (513) 533-6710, or via e-mail at krogerovertimelawsuit@sspfirm.com.
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JUDGE BLACK ISSUES ORDER CONDITIONALLY CERTIFYING FLSA CLASS
July 24, 2016
On July 19, 2016, Judge Timothy Black issued an Order conditionally certifying the following group of employees with respect to their claims for unpaid overtime:
All employees classified as Recruiters, who were employed at Kroger’s Center of Recruiting Excellence (“CoRE”) in Blue Ash, Ohio, at any time from the beginning of CoRE’s operations in October 2014 to the present who worked in excess of forty (40) hours during any given workweek.
In conjunction with this Order, class counsel for the Plaintiffs submitted a “Notice of Opportunity to Join Collective Action” and a blank “Opt-in Consent Form” to all eligible class members, pursuant to a putative class member list provided by Kroger. If you believe you are a member of this class and have not received this notice, please contact class counsel immediately at (513) 533-6710, or via e-mail at krogerovertimelawsuit@sspfirm.com.
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NAMED PLAINTIFFS FILE CLASS & COLLECTIVE ACTION COMPLAINT IN FEDERAL COURT
February 28, 2016
The Named Plaintiffs filed a Collective Action and Class Action Complaint on February 9, 2015, alleging violations of various wage and hour laws by Defendant The Kroger Co. and Kroger G.O., LLC. This Complaint alleges that Plaintiffs, on behalf of themselves and all other similarly-situated employees of Kroger, bring a class and collective action against Kroger, seeking appropriate monetary and declaratory relief, based on Kroger’s willful failure to compensate its employees for overtime worked as required under State and Federal laws. Plaintiffs have brought this action on behalf of all persons who were, or are, employed with Kroger as a Recruiter at the Center of Recruiting Excellence (“CoRE”) in Blue Ash, Ohio, at any time from three years prior to the filing of the Complaint to entry of judgment. A copy of the filed Complaint can be found here.
If you believe you are a member of this class, you may be entitled to compensation. Please contact class counsel immediately at (513) 533-6710, or via e-mail at krogerovertimelawsuit@sspfirm.com.
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DOWNLOADABLE FORMS
Opt-in Consent Form
Notice of Collective Action
Complaint-Hardesty et al. v. The Kroger Co. et al.
Order Conditionally Certifying Collective Action
Agreed Order Granting Supplemental Notice to 8 Additional Putative Class Members
Calendar Order |