I assume we have all been fired or laid off as part of retaliation.
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The assistant manager layoff was clearly retaliation. But who but Stillman has the guts to go up against mighty Staples and make a new lawsuit. Retaliation is serious stuff to courts. We got punished for suing the company we worked for.
I had pretty much the same experience. GM never there and DM did not care, as long as the #s were on par. Worked 60+ hrs a week on average to Make More Happen because there was no other assistant and the GM would either call out entirely when I opened or pull the "family emergency" bit when I closed and then leave. So as soon as I saw the letter for SMs to join the class action I got on board. I knew what I was getting into taking a salaried position. Then I got transferred to that asshole's store and I started getting the shaft and stuck working a ton while the GM worked less than 30 and AMs in other stores were at about 50 hrs a week. I didn't care about retribution, they f***ing deserved that lawsuit, and the more they fought it the more it bit them in the ass. So I took the $$ (eventually) and went back to school.
They tried so hard to justify their BS
I quit long before this round of layoffs. I took part in the lawsuit because I had documented the hours I was forced to work. I worked open to close for 7 days straight because the manager was sick and we didn't have another assistant at that time. Jay, the district manager wouldn't send anyone from another store to help. I entered my actual hours worked into the the system, but someone always over rode my inputs and replaced it with fabricated hours never to tallying to more than 40 hours even though I worked more than that. Told jay he could have his job one day, handed him my keys and walked out. I heard he got promoted. Go figure.
While I think those that initiated it or were in the first wave may mostly be gone, I know some that that opted in during 2010 (when it was settled) and still work there. The first wave was called the Stillman class and they received an earlier payout and damages in addition to lost pay. They also took the risks. The Non Stillman class had to wait about 6 months after that and was pretty much just a rounded down approximation of lost pay, but the company encouraged eligible managers to take it in order to stave off any further lawsuits. I can only imagine how many hours they would expect assistants to work now if they were on straight salary. I know some that were pulling 60 back then.