Update (September 19, 2008): The judge has granted final approval of the settlement and issued judgment in the case. Under the terms of the judgment, no money can be paid to class members until the appeals period expires, approximately 60 days from the date of entry of judgment.

A copy of the final approval order and judgment can be downloaded in PDF format below.

Final Judgment

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We are pleased that an agreement has been reached to settle all claims in the case titled Joanne Kay Ward, et al. v. Albertsons, Inc. The Ward case is a wage and hour class action that began eight years ago and involves employees who quit or were discharged at Albertsons, Lucky and Sav-on stores in California between September 29, 1996, and December 31, 2004.

Key settlement terms:

• Class members will receive up to $350 based on their final wage rate.
• $15 million in payments to affected class members total.
• Payments will be 50% cash and 50% merchandise cards redeemable at Albertson's stores.
• Additional payments to non-union employees who were not paid all their accumulated, vested vacation pay upon termination.
• $3.5 million in attorneys' fees and costs to plaintiffs' counsel, paid out of a separate fund.

About the settlement:

The settlement resolves claims that Albertsons, Lucky and Sav-on regularly failed to pay employees who quit or were discharged their final wages on their last day of work, in violation of California law. The settlement also resolves claims by a smaller subclass of non-union, California employees that the three companies failed to pay all vacation pay owing when the subclass members ended their employment.

$15 million has been set aside to pay the claims of the more than 200,000 class members, plus $3.5 million in attorneys fees and costs.

SUPERVALU, which has acquired the three companies and has not been charged with any violations, states that it entered into the settlement as part of its continuing work in building a best-in-class organization. SUPERVALU affirms its belief that it is in the best interests of the company and its associates to reach agreement on these matters. It continues to work to build an organization that is the best place to work, the best place to shop, and the best place to invest. SUPERVALU is committed to full compliance with all laws governing the workplace.

UFCW Local 324 in Orange County, which sponsored the lawsuit, states that the lawsuit brings justice to employees who were not paid when they needed their wages most when they resigned, retired or were terminated. The lawsuit has led to major changes in employment practices throughout California’s supermarket and drugstore industry. Instead of waiting weeks or months for their final wages, employees can now expect to receive all wages that they are owed on their last day of work, as required by California law. Local 324 noted that none of the violations that led to the lawsuit was committed by SUPERVALU, which acquired the lawsuit when it acquired the chains.

The settlement has been preliminarily approved by the Court. A final hearing will be held at 8:30 a.m. on August 18, 2008, in Department 48 of the Superior Court of the State of California, for the County of Los Angeles, 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, California 90012, before the Honorable Elizabeth A. White. At that time, the Court will decide whether to give final approval to the Settlement.

Download documents:

The class notice and other documents related to the settlement can be downloaded in PDF format below.

Class Notice

Settlement Agreement

Claim Form

 

More information:

Please refer to the PDF documents for more detailed information about the settlement and lawsuit. If you have any further questions, you may contact Class Counsel at (323) 938-3000 ext. 334.