Target Settles Lawsuit Over Claims That Hourly Workers At New Jersey Distribution Centers Weren’t Paid Fairly

Target will soon have to pay millions to its workers. Here’s who will qualify.

Newsweek reports that in November 2022, former employee Krystal Sadler filed a lawsuit, also on behalf of “other similarly situated hourly employees,” alleging that Target violated the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law and the New Jersey Wage Payment Law. Sadler worked at one of the named warehouses in the lawsuit, Logan, as a non-exempt hourly worker from Sept. 8, 2022, to Nov. 22, 2022. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs claimed they were not paid for all hours worked, including time spent traveling to their assigned departments to clock in and out, sometimes across long distances. It also stated they were not paid for all hours spent on mandatory security screenings. Additionally, the lawsuit claimed that the plaintiffs had to complete these unpaid work-related activities before and after shifts.

“In this day and age, there is no technological barrier to paying plaintiffs and other employees for such time. Target already tracks the times plaintiffs and other employees enter and, in some cases, leave the building, so it can readily calculate the time plaintiffs and other employees spend walking to and from their assigned time clocks inside the warehouse,” the lawsuit read, according to Newsweek.

Who Qualifies

Plaintiffs are hourly workers across New Jersey-based distribution centers in Burlington, Logan Township, and Perth Amboy. The lawsuit represents nearly 13,700 current and former employees from Aug. 6, 2019, and onward, Newsweek reports.

Although Target has denied the claims, it has agreed to settle the lawsuit. It will allocate $4.6 million to claims that hourly workers at the aforementioned distribution centers were not paid in accordance with their contracts. Of the $4.6 million, $2.75 million will be reserved for a net settlement fund for claimants, $1.53 million for attorney fees, and $10,000 will go to Sadler.

When Will Checks Be Distributed

Court approval is expected by Feb. 24. Checks will be automatically distributed to those who qualify soon after.