Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is investigating whether Costco Wholesale failed to compensate hourly employees for short-term military leave while providing paid leave for comparable civilian absences.
Costco employs warehouse workers, cashiers, stockers, distribution employees, and other hourly workers who may also serve in the National Guard or military Reserves.
Under Costco’s March 2022 U.S. Employee Agreement, hourly nonexempt employees generally did not receive wages during qualifying military Reserve leave.
This means employees who missed scheduled shifts for military drills, annual training, or other service obligations could lose their regular wages unless they used accumulated vacation or paid time off.
However, Costco’s employee agreement provided paid jury-duty leave to eligible hourly employees.
Eligible full-time hourly employees could receive up to 40 hours of jury-duty pay per week, while eligible part-time employees could receive up to 30 hours.
These differences raise questions about whether Costco’s treatment of military leave complied with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), which generally requires employers to provide employees taking military leave with the same benefits available during comparable nonmilitary absences.
Migliaccio & Rathod is investigating whether Costco hourly employees, including those covered by earlier versions of the company’s policies, were improperly denied compensation for short-term military leave.
Employees May Have Experienced:
- Unpaid leave for National Guard drills or Reserve training;
- Lost wages during annual military training;
- Having to use vacation or PTO to receive compensation during military leave;
- Reduced paychecks because of military service obligations; or
- Military leave being treated differently from paid jury-duty leave.
Potential Claims May Include:
- Violations of USERRA;
- Failure to provide comparable paid military leave benefits;
- Improper denial of military leave compensation; or
- Recovery of wages and benefits allegedly owed.
Signs You May Be Affected:
- You currently work or previously worked for Costco;
- You were an hourly employee who served in the National Guard or military Reserves;
- You took military leave in or after 2022;
- You missed scheduled work for drills, annual training, or other short-term military service;
- You were not paid your regular wages during those absences; or
- You used vacation or PTO to avoid losing income during 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.