Kroger Reaches $20.8M Settlement Over Wage Discrepancies

Case Overview: Kroger has reached a $20.8 million settlement in a class action lawsuit over wage discrepancies caused by payroll system errors.

Consumers Affected: Kroger employees who experienced wage discrepancies due to payroll system errors.

Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Western Division

The Kroger Co. has agreed to pay $20.8 million to resolve claims that payroll system errors caused payment discrepancies for thousands of employees. This settlement addresses issues stemming from a transition to a new payroll platform in September 2022.

Kroger Payroll System Errors Caused Wage Discrepancies

Court documents reveal that payroll system glitches affected approximately 47,000 Kroger employees between September 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023. Employees reported instances of underpayment for hours worked or taken as paid time off, as well as improper deductions related to benefits.

An analysis conducted by Deloitte estimated the total amount of unpaid or delayed wages and improper deductions to exceed $10 million. According to court filings, Kroger has already repaid this amount to affected employees.

In addition to these repayments, the settlement provides $5.27 million in additional compensation to class members. These payments will be pro-rated based on the extent of the discrepancies experienced by individual employees.

Lawsuits Allege Violations of Labor Laws

The wage discrepancies arose shortly after Kroger implemented a cloud-based payroll system known as MyInfo/MyTime. Several lawsuits were filed against the grocery chain, alleging that the new system suffered outages and prevented accurate tracking of employee hours.

Plaintiffs claimed these errors led to violations of federal and state labor laws, as employees were not paid all wages owed for their work.

Settlement Provides Compensation to Affected Employees

Employees eligible for compensation under the settlement include non-exempt workers from states across the country, excluding Oregon and Washington. The settlement divides these employees into two groups based on state-specific labor laws.

Class members from Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Virginia will receive payments covering approximately 62 percent of their reported discrepancies. Workers in all other eligible states will receive payments covering around 42 percent of their discrepancies.

The settlement ensures that no action is required from eligible employees to receive their share of the compensation. Checks will be issued automatically once the court grants final approval of the agreement.

If the court approves the settlement, funds will be distributed to affected employees as quickly as possible. Kroger has committed to ensuring that eligible workers receive their compensation without needing to submit claims.

Kroger Faces Other Lawsuits

This settlement is one of several lawsuits Kroger is currently facing. The company is also involved in litigation related to product labeling and advertising. One lawsuit accuses Kroger of misrepresenting calorie counts on its CARBmaster bread products, while another alleges that its “Mixed Fruit in 100% Juice” product contains ingredients that do not align with its marketing claims.

Case Details

• Lawsuit: Wilder v. The Kroger Co.
• Case Number: 1:22-cv-00681-JPH
• Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Western Division

Plaintiffs' Attorneys

• Clif Alexander and Austin W. Anderson (Anderson Alexander, PLLC)
• Robert E. DeRose (Barkan Meizlish DeRose Cox, LLP)

Are you a Kroger employee who was affected by the payroll system errors? Share your thoughts on the settlement in the comments below.