Jewel-Osco, New Albertsons Must Face Managers’ OT Collective

New Albertsons Inc. must face a former Jewel-Osco assistant store manager’s collective claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act that it is liable as a joint employer for misclassifying her and others as exempt from overtime, an Illinois federal judge ruled.

Lisa Piazza plausibly alleged that New Albertsons owned the Jewel-Osco stores she and other assistant managers worked in, “shared control” over their working conditions, and maintained some of their employment records and benefits, Judge Mary M. Rowland said.

That’s enough at this stage to infer that New Albertsons was their employer under the FLSA, the court said in denying ...