Washington Wage-and-Hour Class Action Filed Against Sportsman’s Warehouse, Inc.

A new class action lawsuit highlights common wage-and-hour issues in the retail industry across Washington State. The lawsuit against Sportsman’s Warehouse, Inc., which sells outdoor recreational gear and operates retail locations throughout Washington, including in Federal Way, alleges the company failed to properly pay its non-exempt, hourly employees.

According to the complaint, staffing conditions and scheduling demands regularly prevented cashiers and other non-exempt retail employees from taking legally required meal and rest breaks. Employees allegedly worked through their meal and rest periods to meet the company’s work requirements and were not compensated with the additional premium pay owed for missed breaks.

The complaint also alleges that the company required employees to use their personal cell phones for work-related purposes without adequate reimbursement, resulting in unlawful wage deductions that in some cases pushed employees’ effective pay below the state minimum wage. It further claims the company failed to pay proper overtime for hours worked over 40 in a week. The lawsuit alleges these violations were willful and part of a company-wide policy — including a cap on hourly wage payments regardless of actual hours worked and paystubs that did not accurately reflect all regular and overtime hours — rather than the result of clerical error, and that the company failed to pay all wages owed upon employees’ termination.

The case seeks to proceed as a class action on behalf of current and former non-exempt, hourly employees of Sportsman’s Warehouse, Inc. in Washington State from three years prior to filing through final resolution.