Hannaford Bros. Co. defended its compensation policy for salaried department managers after agreeing to pay close to $9 million to settle a class action lawsuit that alleged the Scarborough-based grocery retailer denied them overtime pay.
The case stems from a federal lawsuit filed in 2024 by Tasha Vye, a former bakery manager at a Hannaford store in Lewiston. The final order covered a class-action suit that included nearly 1,300 current and former employees, 456 of whom formally opted into the case.
Vye claimed that she and other salaried department managers were entitled to — but were not paid — overtime wages when they worked more than 40 hours a week.
The settlement, approved Aug. 27 by a federal judge in Portland, includes an additional $10,000 for Vye and $5,000 each for three additional plaintiffs.
Hannaford was also ordered to pay nearly $3 million in attorney fees and expenses for the three law firms representing the plaintiffs. They are Head Law Firm in Chicago; Klafter Lesser in Rye Brook, N.Y.; and Murray Plumb & Murray in Portland.
In a statement emailed to Mainebiz, Hannaford said its overtime pay policy for managers is consistent with applicable law.
“Hannaford believes that our classification of all department manager roles has always been compliant with all state and federal laws,” said Hannaford spokeswoman Ericka Dodge Katz.
“We value the leadership that our department managers provide to our organization on a daily basis, and we are proud of Hannaford’s ongoing commitment to offering competitive pay and benefits and a positive work environment for all of our associates,” she added.
Regional footprint
Hannaford, owned by the Dutch international food retail group Ahold Delhaize through its Ahold Delhaize USA subsidiary, is ranked as Maine’s second-largest private employer after MaineHealth in the 2026 Mainebiz Book of Lists. The ranking is based on average monthly employment of between 9,001 to 9,500 in the first quarter of 2025.
Outside of its home state, Hannaford has stores in New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.
