GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Even though a jury found in favor of the twenty-six workers at Sara Lee Corp.’s Zeeland, Michigan plant in their class action overtime wage dispute, the parties have reached a preliminary settlement. The workers claimed, and the jury agreed, the company failed to pay proper wages, including overtime, for time spent changing into and out of their required protective gear in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The Class Action’s Path
In March 2011, the Sara Lee employees filed their lawsuit claiming nearly 30 minutes of their workday was spent putting on and taking off protective safety gear before and after shift and meal breaks. This time was allegedly unpaid. The protective gear, which included items like frocks or protective aprons, gloves and sleeve guards, safety glasses, hearing protection, protective footwear, and face shields, was required for both employee safety reasons and for regulatory health safety reasons.
Three years later, in March 2014, a jury concluded the employees’ don and doff time at the beginning and end of their shifts should have been paid, but did not believe they should have been paid for time surrounding meal breaks. Based on the jury’s verdict, the parties’ settlement agreement, which covers employees working at the Zeeland plant from March 2008 to the present, allots 15 minutes for each of the employees’ shifts during that time in the damages calculations. As a result, the $85,000 settlement will have a wide array of payout amounts ranging from $115 to just over $18,000, based on set criteria in the settlement agreement, to cover back pay and liquidated damages.
Class Action Timelines
There is no set timeline for an overtime class action lawsuit. Class actions may reach settlements quickly or they may stretch on for many years depending on the size, scope, parties, and number of issues involved. In some cases, the parties will not reach a settlement and the court will decide both the verdict and any payouts. In this case, the overtime claim will likely have taken about four years from its initial filing, to its class certification, to trial, and to the final court settlement approval. On the other hand, Sara Lee settled another donning and doffing lawsuit for $1.4 million in April 2013 on a case that was filed a decade earlier on behalf of 231 employees in North Carolina. Regardless of how long a class action or any lawsuit may take, if an employer is wrongfully denying wages, employees are entitled to fight for and claim the wages they earn.
If you are a Sara Lee employee or you believe your employer is wrongfully denying wages for time spent donning and doffing protective gear, you may be entitled to backwages. Contact our top-rated team of overtime pay lawyers today at (855) 754-2795 for a Free Consultation or complete the Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form and our knowledgeable legal team will evaluate your case. If we accept your case, we will represent you under our No Fee Promise. This means there are no legal fees or costs unless you receive a settlement.