Kroger is currently facing or has recently resolved a string of class action lawsuits covering payroll errors, overtime misclassification, inflated prescription co-payments, allegedly misleading “preservative-free” labeling, and past data breaches. Several have already produced settlements — including a $20.8 million payroll deal and a $17 million prescription co-pay agreement — while others remain in active litigation in 2026. Here is where each case stands and who may be eligible for payment.
$20.8 Million Payroll Settlement (Wilder v. Kroger)
The largest employment case is Wilder v. The Kroger Co., Case No. 1:22-cv-00681 in the Southern District of Ohio. Employees alleged that Kroger’s September 2022 rollout of a cloud-based payroll system called MyInfo/MyTime caused underpaid hours, missing or late paychecks, incorrect overtime, PTO problems, and improper benefit deductions from September 2022 through May 2023. The class covers roughly 47,000 workers.1Bloomberg Law. Kroger Workers Seek Court Nod for Wage Deal Worth $20.8 Million2Frantz Ward. Ohio Federal Court Preliminarily Approves $20 Million Settlement for Kroger Wage and Hour Lawsuit
On February 20, 2025, Judge Jeffrey P. Hopkins granted preliminary approval of a settlement valued at more than $20.8 million. About $10 million reflects amounts Kroger had already repaid to affected employees for unpaid or delayed wages, benefits, and PTO, identified through a Deloitte audit. Kroger agreed to pay an additional $5.27 million in pro-rated distributions based on the severity of each worker’s pay discrepancy.3ClassAction.org. $20.8 Million Kroger Settlement Reached to Resolve Unpaid Wage Lawsuit
You do not have to file a claim. Payments were set to go out automatically after final approval. The deal creates two payment tiers: workers in the nine states named in the complaint — Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Virginia — receive approximately 62 percent of their identified negative pay variance, while employees in all other states except Oregon and Washington receive roughly 42 percent. A fairness hearing was scheduled for June 24, 2025.2Frantz Ward. Ohio Federal Court Preliminarily Approves $20 Million Settlement for Kroger Wage and Hour Lawsuit
E-Commerce Manager Overtime Lawsuits (2026)
Two new class actions filed in early 2026 accuse Kroger of misclassifying e-commerce managers as overtime-exempt. The first was filed February 25, 2026, in a Colorado district court. The second, Cherepennikova v. The Kroger Co. et al., Case No. 2:26-cv-00724, was filed March 2, 2026, in the Western District of Washington.4Grocery Dive. Kroger Faces Two Lawsuits Over E-Commerce Worker Classification5Law360. Kroger Misclassified E-Commerce Managers, Wash. Suit Says
Both suits, brought by Morgan & Morgan, argue the e-commerce manager job is really a production role — filling, packing, and preparing online orders — rather than a management position with hiring, firing, or supervisory authority. Plaintiffs say they regularly worked more than 40 hours a week without overtime and that Kroger did not accurately track their hours, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage laws. Each case claims at least 100 potential class members per state. Both remain active.4Grocery Dive. Kroger Faces Two Lawsuits Over E-Commerce Worker Classification
$3.3 Million Mariano’s Manager Settlement
A related case involving Kroger subsidiary Roundy’s Supermarkets, which runs the Mariano’s chain in Illinois, settled for $3.3 million. Current and former meat, bakery, and deli managers alleged they were wrongly classified as exempt from overtime. Judge Matthew F. Kennelly of the Northern District of Illinois approved the deal.6Law360. Ill. Judge OKs $3.3M Deal in Mariano’s Managers OT Suit
$17 Million Prescription Drug Co-Pay Settlement
If you filled prescriptions at Kroger using insurance, you may be eligible for a payment from a separate $17 million settlement. The class action alleged Kroger inflated prescription drug co-payments for insured customers. A motion for preliminary approval was filed March 13, 2026, in the Southern District of Ohio.7Law360. Kroger Agrees to Pay $17M in Drug Copay Inflation Case
Class members are people who paid for prescriptions using insurance at Kroger between December 9, 2018, and the date class notice is sent. Payments will be issued pro rata based on out-of-pocket spending during that window.8Top Class Actions. Kroger Agrees to $17M Class Action Settlement Over Prescription Drug Prices
Simple Truth “Preservative-Free” False Advertising Case
A California consumer class action, Antossyan v. The Kroger Co., Case No. 2:25-cv-05165 in the Central District of California, alleges that Simple Truth Fruit & Grain Bars are falsely marketed as “preservative-free” despite containing citric acid, which the FDA and USDA classify as a preservative. The plaintiff says the label lets Kroger charge roughly 1.5 times more than comparable products.9ClassAction.org. Class Action Lawsuit Claims Simple Truth Fruit and Grain Bars Falsely Advertised as Preservative-Free
In October 2025, Judge George H. Wu partially granted Kroger’s motion to dismiss. He dismissed the nationwide class allegations and the punitive damages request but let the core California claims proceed under the state’s Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law, and Consumers Legal Remedies Act. The plaintiff filed a Second Amended Complaint in November 2025, and a class certification hearing was scheduled for June 2026.10CourtListener. Mary Antossyan v. The Kroger Co.
Data Privacy Cases
Kroger settled a data breach class action for $5 million in 2022. The suit stemmed from a 2021 incident involving Accellion, a third-party file-transfer vendor, that exposed Social Security numbers, medical histories, and prescription data belonging to pharmacy and clinic customers and some employees. The federal case was resolved in Cincinnati.11Becker’s Hospital Review. Lawsuit Alleges Kroger Left Employee, Customer Data Vulnerable Before Breach12Reuters. Kroger Agrees to Pay $5 Million Over Accellion Data Breach
A more recent case, Jane Doe v. The Kroger Co., was filed in the Southern District of Ohio in November 2023. It accused Kroger of installing Meta’s tracking pixel on its pharmacy website and sharing medication names, dosages, and treatment details with Meta Platforms without consent.13HIPAA Journal. Kroger Class Action Pharmacy Patient Data Disclosures Two related complaints were consolidated in January 2024, and the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the consolidated action without prejudice the following month. No payments will come from that case.14Law360. Kroger Pharmacy Customers Dismiss Consolidated Data Sharing Class Suits
$2.4 Million Mariano’s Biometric Privacy Settlement
In Doporcyk v. Roundy’s Supermarkets, Inc., Case No. 2017-CH-08092 in Cook County Circuit Court, the company created a $2.4 million settlement fund to resolve claims that it collected employee fingerprints for timekeeping without the written disclosures and consent required by the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.15Simpluris. Notice of Class Action Settlement, Doporcyk v. Roundy’s Supermarkets
$1.37 Billion Opioid Settlement (State Funds, Not Individual Payments)
Kroger’s biggest legal payout is not a consumer class action. In November 2024, a bipartisan coalition of 30 state attorneys general finalized a $1.37 billion nationwide opioid settlement with the company. The money goes to states and other jurisdictions for opioid abatement — prevention, education, harm reduction, and treatment programs — not to individual consumers. Kroger’s pharmacies must also monitor, report, and share data on suspicious opioid prescriptions.16Colorado Attorney General. Finalize $1.37 Billion Nationwide Opioid Settlement With Kroger
As of June 2025, $96.6 million had been distributed to 924 of 1,171 eligible beneficiaries, split across the first two annual payment cycles. Payments are rolling and depend on jurisdictions completing steps such as entering a consent judgment. Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire are listed as ineligible under the settlement framework; Texas and Kentucky received payments outside the national agreement.17National Opioid Settlement. Kroger Opioid Payment Dashboard
The Blocked Albertsons Merger
Not every major Kroger case is a class action. The proposed $24.6 billion Kroger-Albertsons merger collapsed after Judge Adrienne Nelson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon granted a preliminary injunction on December 10, 2024, calling the deal “presumptively unlawful.” The FTC and nine state attorneys general had sued to block it, and a Washington state judge issued a separate injunction the same day. Both companies moved to terminate the merger the following day.18Federal Trade Commission. FTC Challenges Kroger’s Acquisition of Albertsons19Justia. Federal Trade Commission et al v. Kroger Company et al20New York Times. Kroger-Albertsons Merger Blocked by Federal Judge
How to Check Whether You Qualify
If you worked for Kroger during the September 2022 to May 2023 payroll rollout, watch for an automatic payment from the Wilder settlement rather than a claim form. If you filled insured prescriptions at Kroger on or after December 9, 2018, keep an eye out for class notice from the co-pay case once it receives preliminary approval. Employees who bought Simple Truth Fruit & Grain Bars in California may be covered if class certification is granted in 2026. The e-commerce manager overtime cases in Colorado and Washington are still in early stages, and no class has been certified yet.