Last Chance to Join NTEU’s Shutdown Lawsuit
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Last Chance to Join NTEU’s Shutdown Lawsuit NTEU filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in January 2019, alleging that the government’s failure to pay employees who worked during the shutdown on time violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Who can join the suit? Employees can join (or “opt in”) if (1) they are in a bargaining unit for which NTEU is the exclusive representative; (2) they are covered by the FLSA (i.e., they are FLSA “nonexempt”); and (3) they were “excepted” employees who worked at any point during the Dec. 22, 2018-Jan. 25, 2019 shutdown. Under NTEU-supported legislation, employees affected by the shutdown were eventually paid their regular or overtime wages. NTEU’s lawsuit, however, also requests 100 percent matching liquidated damages. “Liquidated damages” are similar to interest; they are intended to compensate employees for the delay in payments because of the shutdown. NTEU asked the court for liquidated damages to match any overtime or minimum wage that affected employees did not receive on time. If NTEU prevails in this litigation and the court orders the government to pay liquidated damages, only employees who have joined the lawsuit will receive those payments. All eligible employees should join the lawsuit by Nov. 13, 2020, before the statute of limitations expires. If you have already opted-in, you do not need to do so again. Employees with questions should review the FAQs found at www.nteu-flsa-lawsuit.com or direct questions to NTEU-FLSA-lawsuit@bredhoff.com or call 1-800-240-8051. |
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