Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is investigating whether Albertsons Companies, including Safeway, Jewel-Osco, and other affiliated grocery chains, failed to compensate employees for short-term military leave while providing paid leave for comparable civilian absences.
Albertsons’ published employee benefits policies identify military leave as unpaid. This means employees serving in the National Guard or military Reserves may lose their regular wages when they miss scheduled shifts for required military drills, annual training, or other military obligations. Employees who want to receive compensation during these absences may have to use accumulated vacation or paid time off.
However, Albertsons provides paid leave for certain other absences. For example, eligible nonunion employees receive paid bereavement leave, while policies covering certain Jewel-Osco employees provide up to 15 days of paid jury-duty leave.
Under the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), employees taking military leave may be entitled to the same benefits provided for comparable nonmilitary absences. Migliaccio & Rathod is investigating whether Albertsons employees were improperly denied military leave pay under these requirements.
Employees May Have Experienced:
- Unpaid leave for National Guard drills or Reserve training;
- Lost wages during required annual military training;
- Having to use vacation or PTO to receive compensation during military leave;
- Missed paychecks or reduced wages because of military obligations; or
- Different treatment of military leave compared with paid jury-duty or bereavement leave.
Potential Claims May Include:
- Violations of USERRA;
- Failure to provide paid military leave comparable to paid civilian leave;
- Improper denial of employment benefits; or
- Recovery of wages and benefits allegedly owed.
Signs You May Be Affected:
- You currently work or previously worked for Albertsons, Safeway, Jewel-Osco, or another Albertsons-affiliated grocery chain;
- You served in the National Guard or military Reserves;
- You missed scheduled work for drills, annual training, or other short-term military service;
- You were not paid for those absences;
- You used vacation or PTO to avoid losing income; or
- Your employer provided paid leave for jury duty or bereavement but did not pay you for military leave.
If you have encountered these issues, we would like to hear from you. Please complete the contact form on this page, send us an email at [email protected], or give us a call.