Roberts et al. v. The TJX Companies, Inc. is a federal class and collective action in Massachusetts involving assistant store managers at T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods. The lawsuit claimed that TJX misclassified salaried assistant managers as exempt from overtime, even though their main duties were not managerial.
The plaintiffs, including Celina Roberts and Anthony Sciotto, reported working 60–70 hours per week. They said much of their time went to hourly tasks such as stocking shelves, unloading trucks, and running registers. Because TJX treated them as exempt executives, they did not receive overtime pay. The lawsuit argued this violated the Fair Labor Standards Act, Massachusetts overtime law, and, for some workers, the New York Labor Law.
Over the next several years, the case expanded to include nearly 1,900 current and former assistant managers across multiple states (excluding California). After surviving motions to dismiss and obtaining conditional certification, the parties reached a settlement in mid-2020. TJX agreed to pay $31.5 million, with individual awards based on weeks worked in the role.
Lessons learned from the case:
- Job titles and salaries do not determine exempt status. Under the FLSA and state law, employees qualify for the executive exemption only if management is their primary duty.
- Day-to-day work matters more than written job descriptions. When salaried staff spend most of their time on manual or routine tasks, exempt status becomes harder to justify.
- Large-scale misclassification can lead to costly class actions. Regular audits of roles and duties help prevent disputes and reduce legal risk.
If you want to know more about salaried employee rights, read our guide on What are my rights as a salaried employee in Massachusetts?
