Former pharmacist files class action against CVS for overtime pay

PHILADELPHIA - More than 1,000 pharmacists are owed unpaid overtime wages from one of the top pharmacy retail stores in the United States, according to a federal class action suit filed last week at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Junius Baugh, a former assistant pharmacist for several stores in the Philadelphia area, is the lead plaintiff in a complaint that accuses CVS Pharmacy of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act and the Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law by requesting him to work more than 40 hours per week but failing to compensate the time-and-a-half overtime rate.

According to the complaint, Baugh worked as an hourly paid Subordinate Pharmacist from October 2011 to October 2012. During that time, Baugh would clock in for shifts at several different local stores as a floater, filling in for sick or absent pharmacists on an as-needed basis.

The claim says that Baugh would speak to a CVS scheduler on the phone and receive the work assignment for the coming week, including locations, days and times. The floaters had the opportunity to choose overtime shifts immediately available, pick up hours as the week progressed or be forced to work an overtime shift if another employee failed to show up.

Baugh estimates that hourly paid pharmacists would work an average between 40 to 50 hours a week and personally logged between 100 and 130 hours in a two-week pay period. According to the claim, Baugh earned an hourly rate of $58.93 for the entire shifts and claims he should have earned $88.40 per overtime hour.

The eligible members of the federal and state class group are defined as subordinate or floater pharmacists who worked overtime hours for CVS during the October 2011 and October 2012 period. The claim estimates more than 1,000 potential plaintiffs would be eligible under the federal complaints, and several hundred from the 406 CVS stores located in Pennsylvania would qualify for the state class.

Attorneys from Kolman Ely, P.C. in Penndel, Pa., and Stephan Zouras, LLC in Chicago are acting as the class counsel.

The federal case ID is 2:15-cv-00014-GAM.