Burberry to settle USA overtime claim for $2.54 million

By

Matthieu Guinebault

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Jul 19, 2017

After filing a successful collective lawsuit for unremunerated forced overtime hours, 643 Burberry USA employees will receive in compensation the total sum of $2.54 million (€2.19 million).

The lawsuit was filed before Manhattan's federal court by a number of Burberry employees who, according to the court, were active in different departments, from sales managers to beauty consultants and dispatch workers. The New York Post has reported that the workers said they were forced to carry out overtime work, from half an hour to an hour every evening, to clean the stores or perform other menial tasks.

An agreement was eventually reached. Once the legal costs for the expensive lawsuit are deduced, which could amount to up to a third of the sum agreed on, the workers are expected to receive $2,500 each on average from the British fashion label, keen to avoid sullying its reputation further in this matter.

In the fiscal year closed on 31st March, the Burberry group generated a revenue of GBP2.8 billion (€3.1 billion), 77% of which came from retail sales.