AFGE Local 2923 Union Grievance with the National Institute of Environmental Health Science (NIEHS) Ends with a $2.5 Million Resolution.
NORTH CAROLINA – The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 2923 announced that it has settled its Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime grievance against the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) for $2.5 million. “This is a historic settlement,” stated Bill Jirles AFGE L 2923 President. “The employees who have worked hard overtime hours for their country will finally be compensated with this settlement. Without the Union and the expertise of its counsel, Snider and Associates LLC, this settlement would never have been possible,” said Jirles.
The Union’s collective action grievance was filed on behalf of these employees in May 2009. The essence of the action was that employees were erroneously classified as exempt from the FLSA, which are the federal laws protecting employees from being forced to work overtime without being properly compensated. Other key allegations included the denial of the choice of overtime payments in lieu of compensatory time, not properly compensating employees for travel time and failure to provide compensation for “off the clock” work, also known as suffer or permit overtime.
There are approximately 200 federal employees represented by AFGE L 2923. The settlement will pay for employees who, in some cases, had worked overtime hours for years yet had been uncompensated. “The Union and NIEHS management worked together to resolve this matter,” said Michael J. Snider, Esq. of Snider & Associates, adding that “this settlement will ensure that the Agency complies with the regulations under the FLSA and will protect both current and future employees.” “This resolution has been over five years in the making and eliminated the need for what would have surely been many additional years of protracted and costly litigation,” noted Snider & Associates attorney and senior litigator Keith Kauffman.
The claims process will be handled by Class Action Implementation Group (CAIG). Any inquiries concerning the settlement and claims process must be made through CAIG’s website at: www.caig.co. It is expected that affected employees will be contacted within the next several months regarding eligibility.
Snider & Associates, LLC is a boutique labor and employment law firm representing federal employees across the country and has recovered in excess of $130 million in damages in FLSA matters over the past two years alone. In addition to federal sector grievances the firm handles EEO and MSPB cases for unions and their bargaining unit members. For additional information about this case or for information about how the firm can assist your union or bargaining unit employees in other matters please contact Keith Kauffman at (410) 653-9060 or k@sniderlaw.com.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 670,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia. For the latest AFGE news and information, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.