In October of 2008, the Federation of Indian Service Employees, representing employees in the office of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, filed a grievance against DOI on behalf of all bargaining unit employees. The Grievances alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Title V (FEPA), among other violations.
The Law Offices of Snider and Associates, as the legal representatives for the Union, are working hard for the bargaining unit employees to ensure that their rights under federal law are upheld. As part of the process, we have contacted AS-IA employees about their job duties and how much unpaid overtime they have worked.
The Union and Agency have agreed to stay processing the grievance while an attempt is made to resolve portions of the matter. In June of 2011, the Union and Agency resolved which positions should be FLSA Exempt and which should be non-exempt. The next stage of the case is to recover damages for the Union on behalf of bargaining unit employees. Employees covered by the FLSA may be entitled to compensation for suffered or permitted overtime, and employees covered by FEPA may be entitled to pay for work that was ordered or induced to be performed but not paid properly. Additionally, there are damages which flow from the Agency’s failure to properly designate certain employees as FLSA non-exempt. The Parties are currently attempting to negotiate a settlement.
If you are or were in the FISE bargaining unit at AS-IA, please contact us if you believe you have information to share about overtime for which you did not receive proper compensation.
All bargaining unit employees, whether or not they are members of the union, and regardless of position or pay grade, are covered by this grievance and could potentially benefit from a successful result.