Frito-Lay Managers Illegally Denied Overtime to Employees; Allegations of Falsifying Payroll Records and Job Titles; Up to 1,500 Employees Affected.

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 20, 1997--A lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges that Frito-Lay managers are falsely calling some 1,500 delivery people "route sales representatives" in order to get around the law and work these men and women 60, 70, even 80 hours a week, without paying overtime as the law requires.

"A job is what you do, not what you're called," said plaintiffs' attorney John P. McNicholas. "The job title makes it sound as if they're salespeople drumming up business for Frito-Lay and getting nice fat commissions. But what these `route sales reps' do is drive trucks, load and unload boxes and keep track of inventory."

"That's an important job, but it's not sales," added Patrick McNicholas, co-counsel in the class action for back wages and damages. "The people doing that job should be paid what the law says they're owed. For years now, they've been denied lawfully-owed wages. Just look at Jared Cudney."

Jared Cudney, like the other plaintiffs in the class action, would often start work at 1 a.m. and work straight through the following day, not getting off work until it was night again. Driving a delivery truck for Frito-Lay, he loaded and unloaded heavy boxes, and placed and removed product from supermarket shelves. After working eight hours at this job, Cudney was entitled to overtime pay ... but Frito-Lay managers wouldn't give it to him.

California law exempts commissioned salespeople from overtime pay. By withholding lawfully-owned overtime payments to their employees, Frito-Lay managers created an inaccurate level of profitability for their departments, which increased their own bonuses in their profit-sharing and incentive plans.

"Pepsico, which owns Frito-Lay, has had other subsidiaries sued for violations of wage and hour laws before," said John McNicholas. "It is not yet clear whether denying workers overtime pay was Frito-Lay company policy or not. Whatever the case, it's against the law and has to stop. These workers, and all workers like them, deserve recompense and a fair deal from their employers."

CONTACT: James Goldin/Ara Easley, 310/274-7406