City HGEA Members: You May Be Eligible to be Included in New FLSA Lawsuit
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(NOTE: For a PDF copy of the information below, please click on
the attachment. HGEA is providing this information as a service
to our members. The Union is not a party to the lawsuit and is
unable to determine eligibility of individual members. )
What is the FLSA lawsuit?
It contends that the City has improperly calculated the
overtime rate, and has failed to pay employees for all overtime
hours worked. Of particular interest to HGEA members are the
claims that the City often does not pay employees who have
their meal periods interrupted by work, fails to pay employees
for a variety of pre-shift and post-shift work (including
preparing the workplace, dealing with citizen inquiries,
handling e-mail, writing reports, preparing for training, and
other activities), and that it frequently makes overtime
payments on a delayed basis.
Why should I be interested in the FLSA lawsuit?
The first lawsuit resulted in a $30 million settlement on
behalf of 2,200 employees, or an average settlement of more
than $13,000 per employee. Though the first lawsuit was viewed
as being only on behalf of police officers and fire fighters,
in fact, a number of HGEA employees joined the lawsuit and made
substantial recoveries.
There were also a number of employees who stayed out of the
lawsuit, thinking that when a settlement occurred, the City
would cover them. That did not happen.
If you are a City employee who has experienced non-payment for
overtime situations mentioned above, you may be eligible to be
included In the lawsuit.
How do I qualify to be a part of the FLSA lawsuit?
The new lawsuit is being handled by the same team of lawyers
who handled the first lawsuit - Honolulu attorney Vlad Devens
and mainland attorney Will Aitchison. To find out whether you
are eligible to be part of the lawsuit:
1) Contact Mr. Devens at 528-5003 (707 Richards Street,
Penthouse One, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96813) or Mr. Aitchison
toll-free at (800) 811-6530.
2) Meet eligibility requirements and pass the screening
process.
Deadline: Friday, May 30, 2008
Contact:
communications@hgea.org
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