NFFE Local 1998 Union Grievance with the U.S. Department of State, Passport Agency, results in $6.5 Million Resolution.
WASHINGTON DC – The National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) Local 1998, which represents Passport workers throughout the country, announced that it has settled its Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Overtime grievance against the Department of State for $6.5 million. “This very sizeable reimbursement is long overdue for passport workers,” stated NFFE Local 1998 President Rob Arnold. “Employees who’ve been putting in extra work for their country will finally be compensated with this settlement. Without the hard work of the Union and expertise of its counsel, Snider and Associates, LLC, this settlement would never have been possible,” said Arnold.
In 2009, the Union filed a collective action type grievance on behalf of the entire bargaining unit. The essence of the action was that employees were being forced to work overtime without being properly compensated. This included the failure to provide compensation for “off the clock” work, also known as suffered or permitted overtime.
Including former Passport employees, NFFE Local 1998 represents over 1,500 individuals. The settlement will reimburse employees who, in many cases, performed considerable work off-the-clock. These instances occurred over a span of years in which employees encountered roadblocks to achieving their production quotas, due to factors such as malfunctioning computer systems and altered production targets. “The Union and 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 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).