Bergstrom’s Children’s Stores Accused of Shorting Workers : Labor: Suit by six current or former employees claims company refused to pay overtime as required by law.

Six current or former employees of Bergstrom’s Children’s Stores Inc. have filed a class action lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court alleging that the company failed to pay them overtime.

Bergstrom’s, an Anaheim-based retailer with four stores in Orange and Los Angeles counties, refused to pay overtime to employees who routinely worked more than 40 hours in a week, according to the lawsuit.

The company, which specializes in children’s apparel and furnishings, did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Two of the employees are still working for the company, said Nancy Rader Whitehead of R. Craig Scott & Associates law firm in Newport Beach. Whitehead is a lawyer representing the employees.

The employees were told that they were in management positions, according to the lawsuit, and were therefore exempt from receiving time-and-a-half pay after 40 hours. However, the employees maintain that their responsibilities did not match those of a manager.

In addition, one former employee, Michael Soderlund, has filed a separate action against store executive Karl Bergstrom and other company officials for defamation and breach of contract. Soderlund was fired in August, Whitehead said, and company officials spread the word, falsely, that he had been fired for sexually harassing other employees.