Home Depot makes hourly employees work off the clock and through meal breaks, and stiffs them out of overtime pay, according to a federal class action lawsuit filed in Southern California.

A group of four Home Depot employees allege in the class action lawsuit that the home improvement superstore violated a number of state labor laws by failing to pay its hourly employees overtime compensation of time-and-one-half when they work over 8 hours a day and/or 40 hours a week, and overtime compensation at a rate of two time their regular rate of pay when they work more than 12 hours a day.

The Home Depot employee class action lawsuit further charges that the company forces hourly employees to work off the clock and through meal breaks to finish up their assigned duties, failed to give them accurate wage statements and failed to timely pay them upon termination.

The Home Depot overtime class action lawsuit is brought on behalf of all non-exempt or hourly paid employees, excluding installers, supervisors, and managers, who worked at a California Home Depot store from August 14, 2009 until the date of certification.  

It is seeking more than $5 million in damages, restitution penalties, injunctive relief, attorneys’ fees and interest.

A copy of the Home Depot Employee Unpaid Overtime Class Action Lawsuit can be read here.

The case is Irene Fernandez, et al. v. Home Depot, U.S.A., Inc., Case No. 12-cv-1783 AJB DHB, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California.