NEWARK, N.J. – Current and former assistant managers at Home Depot stores are seeking class-action status for a lawsuit that claims they were unfairly denied overtime pay and pension benefits by being improperly classified as managers.

If approved by a federal judge, the lawsuit would cover more than 500 current and former employees in more than 20 states, including Maine, lawyers for three workers who have sued said Tuesday.

The charges were denied by Atlanta-based Home Depot Inc., the nation’s largest home improvement retailer, in papers filed last week in U.S. District Court in Newark.

The company also opposed the certification of any class action suit, denying that plaintiffs have common issues of law or fact.

In a statement issued Tuesday, The Home Depot maintained it has “a strong commitment to fair employment practices” and said the allegations were without merit.

Worker lawyer Della Bahan said the company purposely misclassified the employees, violating federal and state laws, and forced them to work more than 40 hours a week without overtime.

“These men and women have been given the phony title of ‘assistant store manager,’ but in fact have primarily been performing the work of hourly employees and are, therefore, entitled to overtime pay,” she said.

The assistant managers also received reduced benefits in the company retirement plan because they were not eligible for the 4.5 percent matching contribution from the company, lawyers for the workers said.

Federal wage and hour regulations and New Jersey state law say employees are not eligible for overtime pay when their primary duties consist of management of the company or a department, when they regularly direct two or three other employees, when they have the authority to hire or fire, and when their weekly salary is at least $400.