News updates are sent daily. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Lawsuit against Bashas' can move forward
Current and former workers of the Bashas' food chain may be able to pursue their claims of pay discrimination together, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
In a unanimous decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the worker who charged that the Chandler-based grocer paid Hispanic workers less than white counterparts presented "extensive evidence" that the chain's "discriminatory pay practices affected all members of the proposed class." That means the three workers who filed the original lawsuit in 2003 may be entitled to represent anyone affected.
Monday's ruling does not address the merits of their claim that workers at Food City stores, who are predominantly Hispanic, were paid less in the 1990s than employees at the Bashas' and A.J.'s stores owned by the same chain, most of whom are white.
But it does direct U.S. District Judge Robert Broomfield to consider whether the people who sued should be able tocollect damages for past practices for any Hispanic employee who was paid less.
Attorney Jocelyn Larkin who represents the workers said class-action status would be significant because it makes more economic sense to have a single lawsuit for damages to the thousands of affected workers rather than having to hire attorneys and bring in economic experts for each of them, given that the losses for some were as little as $300 a year.
This is actually the second victory for the workers. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Broomfield already agreed to class-action status for a separate complaint that safety and sanitation conditions in Food City stores were inferior to the others.
Attorney Stephanie Quincy, who represents the chain, said it believes it has done nothing wrong.
She also said the lawsuit is simply one of a series of efforts by the United Food and Commercial Workers to force the chain to unionize.
Fewer than 1,000 of the company's approximately 14,000 workers belong to the union, solely because they were working for union-represented stores subsequently acquired by Bashas'.
But Larkin said the issue has nothing to do with unionization.
Please add your comments, but follow these guidelines to keep this a safe, credible place for discussing the news: