Harris-Teeter sued by former employee who objected to unpaid overtime work.

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HARRIS-TEETER SUEDBY FORMER EMPLOYEE
WHO OBJECTED TO UNPAIDOVERTIME WORK
GREENSBORO, N.C.,June 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The Harris-Teeter grocery chain is being sued by aformer grocery manager at one of its Greensboro stores who claims he was forcedto resign in September 1988 after complaining about unpaid overtime work.
Total damagescould exceed $100,000, the plaintiff's attorneys believe.
The suit, filedFriday in U.S. District Court here, alleges that Michael L. Hall of Ruffin wasdemoted to stocker, directed to take a polygraph examination, and forced toquit after protesting unpaid overtime work averaging 12-16 hours per week overa nearly three-month period.
Hall is seeking$1,620 in uncompensated overtime plus interest in lost wages as well asbenefits for being forced to resign, an action he believes was a "wrongfuldischarge." Federal law prohibits discrimination against employees whocomplain about violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, and North Carolinacommon law bars the discharge of employees in violation of "public policy,"such as laws requiring employers to pay time-and-one-half for all overtimehours.
The suit allegesthat Harris-Teeter acted in "bad faith" toward Hall after hiscomplaint by demoting him from manager of its Summit Avenue store to a stockingposition at the High Point Road and Adams Farm store and forcing hisresignation.
Hall also contendsthat he was not offered the opportunity to purchase continuation healthinsurance at the company's group rate as required under the 1985 COBRA law.Employers who violate COBRA are liable for a $100 per day fine, payable to theemployee, for failing to notify employees of their right to elect continuationcoverage for up to 18 months, plus a potential $200 a day excise tax for notproviding the coverage to an employee with eligible dependents.
Attorneys from theUnited Food & Commercial Workers Union are assisting Hall in the suit,which is the second brought by the union in recent months against a Carolinagrocery chain. In March, union attorneys helped a former Food Lion employee filea class action suit alleging a scheme to terminate employees to restricteligibility for profit-sharing benefits and a failure to offer COBRA coverageto terminated workers.
UFCW Local 204represents Harris-Teeter warehouse employees, but Hall, like all of thecompany's store workers, is not a union member. No Food Lion employees areunion members.
The suit filedFriday contends other Harris-Teeter employees have been forced to work unpaidovertime. Last fall, union representatives handbilled Harris-Teeter stores withinformation about violations of wage-and-hour laws and other federal laborlaws.
OtherHarris-Teeter employees have contacted the union about similar violations,attorneys said, and the cases are being investigated to determine if they shouldbe added to this suit.
The UFCW hascharged that lax enforcement of wage and hour laws is costing retail foodworkers an estimated $1 billion a year in lost wages. UFCW President William H.Wynn has pledged union assistance to non-union workers, like Hall, in filingsuit because "when non-union companies are allowed to break the law withimpunity, they gain an unfair competitive advantage over employers who employUFCW members and obey the law."