Class Action Claims New York Party City Employees Unlawfully Paid Biweekly Instead of Weekly

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A proposed class action claims Party City Corporation has failed to pay New York employees as often as required under state law.

The nine-page lawsuit alleges that because the party supply store’s workers perform mostly manual labor, they should be paid on a weekly basis instead of a biweekly, in accordance with the New York Labor Law (NYLL).

The plaintiff says he worked as a sales associate at two of Party City’s nearly 50 New York stores at various times in 2020 and 2021, and was responsible for unpacking and stocking merchandise, reshelving returned items and janitorial duties such as sweeping and mopping. Per the case, the plaintiff’s duties were “exclusively manual” and non-clerical in nature.

The lawsuit states that under New York law, manual workers—i.e., those who spend more than 25 percent of their time engaged in physical labor—are to be paid no later than seven calendar days after the week during which their wages were earned.

The case claims that although the plaintiff and other Party City employees spent well over 25 percent of their time on manual labor, they were wrongfully paid biweekly instead of weekly as required by the NYLL.

“Defendants therefore knowingly and willfully operated their business with a policy of failing to pay Plaintiff and similarly situated employees weekly as required by the NYLL,” the complaint alleges.

The lawsuit looks to cover current and former non-exempt, non-clerical employees who worked at Party City’s New York stores at any time within the last six years and the date of final judgment in this matter.

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