Brian Weller, a former employee of a prominent supermarket chain, has filed a collective action lawsuit against his former employer for alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The complaint was lodged in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on November 18, 2025, targeting ALDI Inc., an Illinois-based corporation. The case accuses ALDI of failing to properly compensate its hourly employees for overtime work by not including non-discretionary bonuses in their regular rate calculations.
The lawsuit claims that Brian Weller, who worked as a warehouse picker for ALDI from September 2023 to October 2025, and other similarly situated employees were systematically underpaid due to the company’s improper calculation of overtime wages. According to the complaint, ALDI’s payment structure included various forms of non-discretionary compensation such as Safety Bonus pay. However, these were allegedly excluded from the regular rate used to calculate overtime pay, violating FLSA requirements. Weller’s pay stub from June 30 to July 13, 2025, exemplifies this issue: despite working over 96 hours and receiving a Safety Bonus for that period, his overtime rate did not reflect this additional remuneration.
The plaintiff argues that ALDI’s actions constitute willful violations of federal labor laws designed to ensure fair compensation for overtime work. Under FLSA guidelines, employers must include all forms of remuneration when calculating an employee’s regular rate of pay for overtime purposes unless specifically exempted by statute. The lawsuit contends that ALDI failed to meet these legal obligations by excluding bonuses from its wage calculations across its workforce.
In response to these allegations, Brian Weller seeks several forms of relief from the court. He requests certification of the case as a collective action under FLSA provisions and asks for a complete accounting of all compensation owed to him and other affected employees. Additionally, he demands monetary judgments including back pay with liquidated damages equal to those amounts and coverage of legal fees incurred during litigation. Furthermore, Weller calls upon ALDI Inc.’s management practices regarding payroll systems nationwide which purportedly resulted in similar violations at different locations throughout America.
Representing Brian Weller is attorney Jesse L. Young from Sommers Schwartz P.C., based in Kalamazoo Michigan; no specific judge has been assigned yet nor any particular magistrate named within documentation provided thus far – leaving some procedural aspects pending further developments within court proceedings ahead as they unfold over time under Case ID: 1:25-cv-14088.
Source: 125cv14088_Brian_Weller_v_Aldi_Complaint_Northern_District_of_Illinois.pdf
