Portland, Ore. (KOIN) — Back in November, Oregon Fred Meyer employees filed a class action lawsuit claiming some workers weren’t receiving paychecks.
Now, KOIN 6 talked with a former employee who said he is still trying to get the money he is owed.
Fred Meyer told KOIN 6 that the problem that happened to a small percent of employees across the country and here in the Pacific Northwest was caused by new payroll software and that the vast majority of the issues have been solved.
But Mike Papas who worked at a local Fred Meyer until recently said the company still owes him money for hours he worked.
Papas told KOIN 6 that twice now the company has failed to deposit his paycheck, once in November and once in December. He said he did eventually get some of the money back but is claiming the company wouldn’t provide him with the paperwork he asked for in order to verify he received the correct amount of pay.
Papas started working at Fred Meyer last summer but said he quit two weeks ago, saying he got tired of having to chase down his money.
“This is inexcusable,” Papas said. “You’re hurting families. You’re taking money for people to pay, you know, feed their kids, feed their relatives.”
In that class action lawsuit filed in U.S. Federal court in Portland, Fred Meyer employees are seeking at least $5 million on behalf of workers who employees are haven’t been paid. The lawsuit wants the company to pay interest on the wages owed.
In a statement to KOIN 6 sent this past weekend a Fred Meyer spokesperson said in part: “We apologize for the impact this has had on those associates. The vast majority of the issues have been resolved, and we are working diligently to resolve those that remain to ensure all associates are paid accurately and on a timely basis.”
Dan Clay, President of UFCW Local 555 said that “it is appalling that a national corporation cannot pay their workers correctly. Affected members at Fred Meyer and QFC have been offered nothing more than endless reassurances that this issue will be fixed soon. In addition to filing grievances over nonpayment issues, the Union has also assisted members in contacting attorneys to pursue damages outside the scope of the normal grievance, and a class action lawsuit has been filed against the company. Those who have missed a paycheck will be noted in the discovery process and will automatically be added to the impacted class of the lawsuit. Workers at Fred Meyer and QFC deserve better than Fred Meyer’s excuses for the service they provide to the community.”
KOIN 6 reached out to the company again asking how many employees still haven’t received full wages and if the company is doing anything to help those employees pay bills.
KOIN 6 also reached out to Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industry to see if they’re investigating, but hasn’t heard back.