FGX International employees Merchandisers. These are employees that go to retail stores and collect information regarding product placement and to update each store's inventory. FGX pays Merchandisers on a per store visit basis and not hourly. This lawsuit alleges that this pay structure violates federal and state laws regarding minimum wage, overtime pay and unpaid off the clock work.
Plaintiff was previously employed by FGX as a Merchandiser. During the course of her employment, FGX employed hundreds of persons throughout South Carolina as Merchandisers.
The lawsuit alleges that FGX sent its Merchandisers to retail stores to collect and record information about product placement and inventory. Merchandisers also installed, set up, maintained, and took down product displays. Merchandisers then relayed to FGX information collected on their visits including how much product to order for each store. FGX did not, however, pay the Merchandisers for all the time that it required them to work and did not reimburse them for their required and employment-related use of internet access and cell phone service.
Further, the complaint alleges that instead of compensating Merchandisers for the reasonably approximate costs of the business use of their vehicles, FGX payed Merchandisers a flat rate per store that results in the payment of an unreasonably low reimbursement rate beneath any reasonable approximation of the expenses they incur. During some or all workweeks, unreimbursed expenses and off-the clock work by Merchandisers caused their wages to fall below the wage rate required by federal and state minimum wage laws and resulted in FGX's failure to properly pay Merchandisers for overtime hours worked.
This lawsuit alleges that this pay structure violates federal and state law.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Employment