South Australia’s largest private employer and convenience store chain, OTR, has agreed to pay nearly $6 million to settle long-running wage disputes with employees.
Key points:
- OTR agreed to pay $5.8 million to settle a class action lawsuit with employees
- The class action lawsuit was launched against OTR’s owner, Shahin Enterprises, in 2020.
- The proposed settlement would come with no admission of liability or wrongdoing.
Federal court documents reveal that OTR has agreed to pay $5.8 million to settle a class action lawsuit involving allegations that it underpaid staff in South Australia between 2014 and 2020.
The class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of 1,050 workers in May 2020.
Law firm Adero Law estimated that 8,000 current or former employees were eligible to join the class action lawsuit when it was first brought to court.
He also claimed that Shahin Enterprises could be liable for between $50 million and $70 million in unpaid salaries and royalties.
The company was accused of failing to pay overtime, underpaying staff, and misusing its internship program as a means of undercutting workers’ pay.
OTR denies the allegations.
The proposed settlement would come with no admission of liability or wrongdoing by the convenience store chain.
If approved by the court, the lump sum payment will be divided among employees who have already registered to participate in the proceedings.
The Federal Court will decide in December whether to approve the settlement.
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