Whitehall Jewellers Settles Overtime Suit

Whitehall Jewellers, a leading US jewelry manufacturer and retailer of fine jewelry, has reached a preliminary agreement over a class action lawsuit alleging managers in California were not exempt from the payment of overtime wages based on California law.

The company will pay $620,000 that covers the period from July 25, 1998 through the date of settlement approval and also covers the plaintiffs' attorneys' fees, costs, interest, penalties and administrative costs.

Back in July 2002, Whitehall was named a defendant in a wage hour class action suit filed in California by three former store managers that claimed that store managers employed by the company in California should have been classified as non-exempt for overtime purposes.