 Throughout Plaintiff’s employment with Belk, Plaintiff consistently worked more  than 40 hours per workweek.    Belk failed to keep accurate records of all hours worked by Plaintiff.    Although Belk failed to keep accurate records of Plaintiff’s hours worked, Belk  required, suffered, or permitted Plaintiff to work in excess of 40 hours per week.    Belk was aware that Plaintiff worked more than 40 hours per workweek, yet Belk  failed to pay Plaintiff any overtime compensation for any of the hours worked over 40 in a  workweek.    Defendant classified Plaintiff as exempt from coverage of the overtime provisions  of the FLSA.    Upon information and belief, Belk did not perform an individual analysis of  Plaintiff’s job duties when making the decision to classify Plaintiff as exempt from the overtime  protections of the FLSA.    Plaintiff’s primary duties were non-exempt.     The tasks that Plaintiff regularly performed included but were not limited to:  a.  restocking products;   b.  marking down sale items;  c.  keeping clothes organized;  d.  operating the register;   e.  selling merchandise;  f.  working the sales floor; and  g.  performing other general customer service related duties.    Plaintiff’s primary job duties did not include:  5  a.  hiring, firing, promoting, or disciplining other employees;  b.  implementing management policies, practices, and procedures;  c.  committing Belk in matters having significant financial impact;   d.  setting employees’ wages; or   e.  determining how many labor hours could be allocated to Plaintiff’s  store.    The performance of non-exempt duties occupied the vast majority of Plaintiff’s  working hours.    Plaintiff’s primary duties did not differ substantially from the duties of non-exempt  hourly paid employees.    Plaintiff did not exercise a meaningful degree of independent discretion with respect  to the exercise of Plaintiff’s duties.     Plaintiff did not have the discretion or authority to make any decisions with  respect to matters of significance and was required to follow the policies, practices, and  procedures set by Belk.  Plaintiff did not have any independent authority to deviate from these  policies, practices, and procedures.    Store managers and district managers were responsible for the overall performance  of the store, not Plaintiff.    Belk has intentionally, willfully, and regularly violated the FLSA with respect to  Plaintiff by:  a.  willfully failing to record all of the time the Plaintiff worked for the  benefit of Belk;  b.  willfully failing to keep accurate time records as required by the FLSA;  c.  willfully failing to credit Plaintiff for all hours worked including overtime  hours, consistent with the requirements of the FLSA;  d.  willfully failing to pay Plaintiff wages for all hours worked including  overtime wages for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per workweek;  6  e.  willfully classifying Plaintiff as exempt despite Plaintiff’s primary duties  being non-exempt in nature; and  f.  failing to provide sufficient resources in the labor budgets for non-exempt  employees to complete all of the non-exempt tasks at Plaintiff’s location  of employment, knowing or recklessly disregarding the fact that doing so  resulted in Plaintiff  having to work more than 40 hours in a workweek  primarily performing non-exempt duties during Plaintiff’s workweeks  without receiving overtime compensation—which allowed Defendant to  avoid paying additional wages (including overtime) to the non-exempt  employees.    As a sophisticated employer operating hundreds of locations throughout the  country, Defendant was aware or recklessly disregarded the fact that Plaintiff primarily  performed non-exempt duties and did not perform activities sufficient to satisfy the requirements  for any FLSA exemption.  Inasmuch as Defendant is a substantial corporate entity aware of its  obligations under the FLSA, Defendant acted willfully or recklessly in failing to classify Plaintiff  as a non-exempt employee.  V.   Plaintiff realleges and incorporates by reference the allegations in the preceding  Paragraphs as if they have been set forth herein.    The overtime wage provisions set forth in §§ 201 et seq. of the FLSA apply to  Belk.     Belk violated the FLSA, as described in this Complaint.    Belk failed to pay Plaintiff the overtime wages to which Plaintiff is entitled under  the FLSA.     Belk’s violations of the FLSA, as described in this Complaint, were willful and  intentional.  Belk failed to make a good faith effort to comply with the FLSA with respect to its  compensation of Plaintiff.    Because Belk willfully violated the FLSA, a three-year statute of limitations  applies, pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 255.  7    As a result of Belk’s willful violations of the FLSA, Plaintiff suffered damages by  being denied overtime wages in accordance with 29 U.S.C. §§ 201, et seq.     As a result of Belk’s unlawful acts, Plaintiff has been deprived of overtime  compensation and other wages in amounts to be determined at trial, and is entitled to recovery of  such amounts, liquidated damages, prejudgment interest, attorneys’ fees, costs and other  compensation pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 216(b).  VI.  Count One – Unpaid Overtime Compensation In Violation of the FLSA  