Publix employees want more overtime

Publix Super Markets, which has spent 17 years as one of Fortune's best companies to work for, isn't getting a lot of praise from employees in Tennessee.

Two bakery workers there have taken the Lakeland-based chain to district court demanding holiday pay, tuition reimbursements and other compensation be included in base hourly pay rates.

April White and Bruce Bogach say overtime -- which pays at 150% base rate -- has been incorrectly calculated to not include other compensation Publix provides employees on a pro-rated basis.

Bonuses and other compensation packages are not exempt from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, the two say in their in complaint. They are looking for class-action status.

This case's jurisdiction is in the greater Nashville area, but it could eventually have implications companywide, affecting Publix's 169,000 employees throughout the Southeast.

Publix spokeswoman Maria Brous tells Coffee Talk in a statement the grocery chain is an employee-owned and operated company that always has treated its employees with dignity and respect.

“We believe our compensation systems comply with the letter and spirit of the law,” she says. “We deny these allegations, and are confident of the lawfulness of our pay-related benefit programs.”