Employment and Labor Law

Contact: Michael J. Neary; Lerch, Early & Brewer (Maryland, USA)

So, as summer winds to a close, what can you be thankful for? Well, if you run a business, start with the Fourth Circuit!

In late August, the Fourth Circuit affirmed a decision by the Honorable Ellen L. Hollander of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland in a wage and hour collective action brought against Rite Aid. The plaintiffs were pharmacists for Rite Aid who alleged that they were entitled to overtime pay because Rite Aid had a policy of allowing unpaid personal leave only in full-day increments once employees exhausted their other paid leave.

The pharmacists claimed they were entitled to overtime pay because the unpaid leave policy destroyed the exemption from federal and state wage and hour laws that otherwise would have applied to them. Yes, you read that right, the company provided a benefit to its employees and the employees claimed that the benefit destroyed their exempt status.

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