Pharmacist sues Walgreens over uniform and training pay

A California pharmacist has filed a potential class action lawsuit against Walgreens, alleging the chain violated state and federal laws by not paying pharmacists for training hours or time spent maintaining uniforms.

The lawsuit, first reported by Law360, was filed last week in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco.  A Walgreens spokesperson, Michael Polzin, refused comment on the lawsuit, citing the pending litigation.

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According to the Law360, Debra Short worked as a nonexempt pharmacist for Walgreens from September 1997 to April 2012. She alleges that Walgreens violated state labor code and federal labor law by not paying pharmacists overtime hours for training, and by failing to pay them all of their earned wages upon termination. The complaint also alleges Walgreens did not pay employees required pay for uniform maintenance.

 “As a result of the defendants’ unlawful conduct, plaintiff and the other class members have suffered damages in an amount, subject to proof, to the extent they were not paid the full amount of wages earned during each pay period,” the lawsuit stated.

Short’s lawsuit alleges that Walgreens did not pay pharmacists for training time that required at-home work, or for time spent gaining CPR certifications or immunization training.

Short is asking the court to certify her lawsuit as a class action, including one group for California pharmacists employed by Walgreens during the past four years and another of pharmacists employed nationwide by Walgreens during the past three years.