A former employee at GameStop is suing the retailer for what he says are violations of New York labor laws, Polygon reports.
The employee in question, Trevon Mack, filed his proposed class-action suit Wednesday in New York's eastern district court.
In the suit, Mack and his lawyer assert GameStop should have treated employees as "manual laborers," which means that 25% of their job requires them to do manual labor such as organizing stockrooms, moving packages and standing for long shifts.
GameStop currently pays workers every other week, but New York Labor Law Section 191 requires that companies pay manual laborers every week. Should the courts agree GameStop employees ought to be classified as manual laborers, the company would be found in violation of the law.
If granted class-action status, Mack's suit could bring on "hundreds, if not thousands" of current and former GameStop employees.
New York defines a manual worker as "a mechanic, workingman, or laborer," which courts have typically interpreted as a worker doing "physical labor" for more than 25% of their working day. That fairly broad definition often causes confusion among companies, and this year alone has seen similar suits filed against Cheesecake Factory, Wal-Mart, Party City, Apple, Urban Outfitters and more. Many of these cases are still ongoing.
