Saint-Surin v Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Ft. Lauderdale-Palm Beach, Inc.
Florida Employees of Pepsi Cola Bottling Claim the Soda Giant Owes Them Overtime
A statewide collective action has been filed in Florida against Pepsi-Cola Bottling of Ft. Lauderdale-Palm Beach, Inc. The action is brought on behalf of all current and former Florida employees who, since November 24, 2000, did not receive overtime compensation as required for all hours worked in excess of 40 weekly. The action is brought under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and seeks back-pay, compensatory damages, liquidated damages as well as declaratory
and injunctive relief. As a collective action, all potential claimants must opt-in to the action in order to be considered part of the class. The employees have requested that the court issue notice to all potential claimants.
This action arises from what employees claim is an intentional and systematic effort on the part of Pepsi-Cola to circumvent federal law by not paying its employees proper overtime compensation. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, employees are entitled to compensation at the rate of time and a half for all hours worked in excess of 40 weekly. The employees assert that Pepsi-Cola has no provisions to compensate employees for overtime hours. However, they assert that they are often called on to work in excess of 40 hours a week at Pepsi-Cola's Ft. Lauderdale and Palm Beach bottling plants. According to the employees, they are hourly employees and are not exempt from earning overtime.
