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Detroit Tigers failed to pay hourly workers enough overtime, lawsuit states
Dave Boucher, Detroit Free Press
Thu, January 16, 2025 at 6:10 AM EST
2 min read
A former Detroit Tigers employee sued the baseball franchise in federal court, arguing the team short-changed him and many others who regularly worked overtime in recent years.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Eastern District of Michigan by Derron Jones, alleges widespread miscalculation of overtime rates for Jones and other hourly workers for the franchise.
Jones did not include a specific amount of money he believes he is owed. But the lawsuit seeks more than just back pay, interest and damages for Jones − his lawyers argue all hourly employees for the Tigers in the last three years is also owed some money.
Jones worked in shipping and receiving from March 2017 through Aug. 6, 2024, the lawsuit states. The lawsuit does not say why he left his job. He earned a shade under $16 an hour, but routinely worked overtime.
While the lawsuit says he did receive some compensation for the extra work, it failed to meet federal labor law standards.
"At all relevant times, (the Tigers) had a policy and practice of willfully refusing to pay (Jones) and all putative collective members the legally required amount of overtime compensation for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours per workweek, in violation of the (Fair Labor Standards Act)," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit argues the Tigers failed to take into account all pay the workers received when calculating overtime rates. Jones' lawyers argue the franchise did not include extra money a worker may receive for a "shift premium," a perk for someone working an irregular shift, and other bonuses. They say all of this compensation must be used to calculate a person's base pay before determining overtime; typically, 1.5 times a person's base pay.
The lawyers are asking the judge to give them class action status and require the Tigers to provide them details about other hourly workers.
Tigers spokesman Ben Fidelman said the team hat yet to receive the complaint so declined additional comment. Lawyers representing Jones − Jonathan Melmed and Laura Supanich of Los Angeles and Kevin J. Stoops of Southfield − also did not return messages seeking comment.
Reach Dave Boucher at dboucher@freepress.com and on X @Dave_Boucher1.