Six Louisiana GameStop managers have filed a collective law suit against the company, declaring that they have been wrongfully denied overtime pay. The problem derives from the Fair Labor Standards Act, which states that those persons "employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity" do not receive overtime pay.
The GameStop employees, whose suit stems from having to work up to 50-60 hours some weeks without overtime pay, claim that they have no manegerial abilities. According to those involved in the suit, GameStop employees are not allowed to:
- Determine how much to pay the store staff
- Make any decisions regarding price
- Make any decisions regarding what and how much to stock
- Decide the location of items on shelves
- Control the hiring and firing of their own employees (such a decision was made by district managers)
It does seem like "manager" is merely a title. As GameSpot (note the swapped 'p' and 't') reports, a similar suit is ongoing in New York, where Electronics Boutique employees (pre-GameStop merger) in 2004 filed suit about unpaid overtime and denied minimum wage. GameStop is asking that the Louisiana case be dropped due to the similarity of both suits, though the New York case is in the early stages of settlement.