Festival Foods Manager Overtime Settlement

Festival Foods and a group of its current and former department managers have agreed to a proposed $7.5 million settlement to resolve wage-and-hour claims. The managers alleged that Festival Foods incorrectly categorized salaried department managers as exempt from overtime pay, even though they frequently performed tasks like manual labor and customer service rather than exercising the high level of authority and discretion required for such an exemption.

The workers sought overtime compensation under both the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Wisconsin wage laws, claiming they were owed additional pay for hours worked beyond the applicable weekly threshold. Festival Foods disputed these claims, maintaining that its department managers were correctly classified as exempt from overtime requirements. The litigation involved both an FLSA collective action and a Wisconsin wage law class action.

The proposed settlement, which is subject to court approval, could provide eligible workers with an average gross payment of about $7,418, with individual payouts potentially reaching up to $10,150. Claim-filing instructions have not been released, and interested parties are advised to sign up for updates from the source website.