Class-action lawsuit claims Tire Choice denied overtime pay

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A federal lawsuit seeking class-action status accuses a Perinton-based company of failing to pay overtime wages.

Plaintiffs Anthony Daley Speranza and Raymond Thomas Henry Jr. are suing Monro Inc. (the parent company of Tire Choice Auto Service Centers).

The plaintiffs are represented by attorney Samuel Alba, in Getzville, Erie County.

The complaint seeks conditional class certification authorizing notice to the perspective class offering an opportunity to opt-in to the action.

The plaintiffs were employed as store managers at Tire Choice stores.

The violations “are the result of a common policy, practice, plan, or scheme to avoid the payment of overtime wages to store managers,” according to the complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Rochester.

Speranza was a store manager in Estero, Fla., from August 2023 until November 2024. Henry was a store manager in the Bonita Springs and Estero stores, in Florida, from 2023 until August 2025, according to the complaint.

Tire Choice is headquartered at 295 Woodcliff Drive, Suite 202, in Perinton. The company did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The putative class members are the company’s past store managers who worked for Tire Choice stores at any time in the three years preceding the filing of the complaint and worked more than 40 hours in any workweek, and were not paid overtime wages, according to the suit.

Tire Choice has about 300 store managers who were paid on a salary basis, according to the suit.

“They regularly worked more than 40 hours in a workweek.  In fact, defendant’s policy requires store managers to work a minimum of 52 hours per week,” the suit claims.

The suit claims that the company improperly classified the store managers as “exempt.” The store managers did not qualify for the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exemption because their primary duties were manual labor, not managerial, the suit claims.

Monro Inc. is one of the nation’s largest auto service companies, with more than 1,200 stores in 32 states, according to the suit. The corporation operates several brands, including Monro Auto Service, Mr. Tire, and Tire Choice, according to the complaint.

Monro operates about 300 Tire Choice stores in the United States, according to the complaint.

“Each Tire Choice location is meant to employ and operate with a group of employee technicians and one store manager. The store manager is the only salaried position in each store,” according to the complaint.

Each store is allotted a limited number of labor hours each week, but the cap only applies to hourly employees, according to the complaint.

“The limited number of labor hours results in the store manager being required to work even longer hours than the scheduled 52,” according to the suit.

“During store operating hours the store managers are performing nonmanagerial manual labor nearly the entire time. The store manager is required to be ‘on the floor,’ helping customers, or working on cars at all times while the store is open,” the suit claims.

If the allotment of labor hours is limited, or if an employee “calls off,” the store manager is frequently required to work with only one hourly employee, the suit claims.

Speranza worked open to close, seven days each week, from Aug. 8, 2023, until Nov. 23, 2023, according to the suit. On average, store managers earn between $15 and $17 per hour, when considering their total hours worked, according to the complaint.

On average, the plaintiffs and other store managers work about 75 hours a week, the suit claims.

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