Circle K Faces Employee Class-Action Suit

LAS VEGAS – Come September, Circle K Stores Inc. will participate in mediation between the company and 59 current and former employees who argue they were improperly classified as store managers to avoid overtime pay, according to media reports.

Charles Grahl and other plaintiffs, all of whom worked in Arizona or Nevada Circle K stores, say they held store manager titles, but had no authority to make decisions regarding the personnel or operations of their stores. The class-action lawsuit argues that management titles were inappropriate because the majority of the employees' work hours were spent performing "menial tasks" such as unloading boxes.

The lawsuit also argues that plaintiffs were required to work at least 16 hours of overtime per week, but were paid on a salary basis with no overtime.

Las Vegas attorney Andy Rempfer, who represents the plaintiffs, told KNPR News that Circle K does not have the discretion to independently categorize employees as managers, particularly those who only work at the cash registers.

A Circle K spokeswoman was unavailable for comment, according to the report.