LOS ANGELES--Three major supermarket chains in California have agreed to pay some $21.5 million to settle a 2001 class action lawsuit brought by store janitors who claimed that a building service contractor employed by Safeway Inc., Albertsons Inc., and Ralphs Grocery Co. forced them to work seven days a week with no overtime pay.

Final settlement of the case, which began in state court in November 2000, then was removed to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in January 2001, took place in July (Flores v. Albertsons Inc.,No. CV 01-0515), but included a confidentiality clause that kept details from surfacing until early October when a radio and print advertising campaign, part of the agreement, was launched seeking to locate janitors who worked at the stores during the period from Jan. 1, 1994, through Dec. 31, 2002.

Payroll records indicate that about 1,000 janitors worked for Building One Service Solutions cleaning the three supermarket chain's stores during those years, but only about 800 so far have been identified, according to Maria Blanco, an attorney with the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, an advocacy group which specializes in defending low-income workers.

The outreach campaign to find eligible class members includes ads in Spanish and English, and toll-free numbers, including one available in Mexico, that former janitors can use to be included in the settlement, she added.

Companies Denied Any Wrongdoing.

In their settlement with the class members, Albertsons, Ralphs, and Safeway, which also includes Vons Cos. Inc. supermarkets, all denied any wrongdoing or liability for Building One's workers. Blanco told BNA, however, that the agreement to pay back wages, penalties, interest, and attorneys' fees was an important step in the fight to establish "joint employer" liability for companies that subcontract with firms that mistreat employees.

A spokesman for Ralphs, citing the confidentiality agreement, declined comment; calls to Albertsons and Safeway seeking comment were not returned.

Under the settlement, Safeway agreed to pay $14 million into a settlement fund, from which $10,000 each will be paid to the three named plaintiffs in the class action. Attorneys for the class will receive $4 million in fees from the fund, plus an additional $575,000 for costs associated with prosecuting the case, according to the settlement document.

The Safeway/Vons settlement fund will allocate $2.9 million to paying back wages, and $5.8 million for interest, liquidated damages, emotional distress, restitution, and disgorgement, the document added.

Albertsons agreed to pay $4.5 million into a settlement fund, with $1.37 going for attorneys' fees, $960,750 for unpaid wages, and $1.9 million for interest, emotional distress, penalties, and other fees. Ralphs will pay a total of $3 million into a settlement fund, with plaintiffs' counsel receiving $750,000 in fees, plus $100,000 for costs; $620,000 will go for unpaid wages, and $1.24 million for emotional distress, interest, and penalties, the documents said.

After the payments are made to named plaintiffs and attorneys, the settlement funds will be distributed to eligible class members in accordance with a formula based upon the number of weeks worked during the class period, according to the documents and Blanco.

Blanco told BNA that the "core issue" of the complaint was that janitors at the stores were forced to work seven days a week, and were not paid overtime, as required by California and federal labor laws.

Counsel for the janitors included: the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF); Bahan & Associates; Hadsell & Stormer Inc.; Law Offices of Marvin E. Kraknow; Law Offices of Robert D. Newman; Traber & Voorhees; and Talamantes, Villegas, & Carrera.