Attorney Tod Cochran Wins Holiday Overtime Arbitration For UFCW Local 791 Employees at Shaw's

A neutral arbitrator agreed that certain UFCW Local 791 employees at Shaw's Supermarket are entitled to overtime pay for working Patriots Day.

The collective bargaining agreement negotiated by UFCW Local 791 recognizes "major" holidays and "minor" holidays. Minor holidays include such only-in-Massachusetts events as Patriots Day. Employees generally are entitled to holiday pay regardless of whether they work the holiday. In addition, the contract provides for overtime to employees who work a minor holiday. The contract language on overtime for working a holiday contains no exceptions.

Nonetheless, Shaw's decided to stop paying overtime to employees working minor holidays if they were hired after 2008. That's because an agreement excluded those employees from receiving holiday pay on minor holidays. The Arbitrator found the employer's defense to be untenable. Just because these employees are not eligible for holiday pay on Patriots Day does not mean that they are not eligible for overtime for working the same day.

He ordered Shaws to pay the proper amount of money to post-2008 employees who worked Patriots Day.