Notice Sent in Government Shutdown Class Action Lawsuit

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A class action lawsuit filed over the 2013 U.S. government shutdown has been conditionally certified. Notices about the government shutdown class action lawsuit reportedly went out to Class Members between March 9 and March 16. If you were classified as an “essential” employee during the shutdown, you can join the government shutdown class action lawsuit to pursue the compensation you may be entitled to receive under federal law.

The class action lawsuit alleges the U.S. government violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) when it failed to pay minimum wage and overtime to government workers classified as “essential” or “excepted” during the government shutdown that took place from Oct. 1-16, 2013. Even though the government was shut down, essential workers were required to report to work and perform their normal job duties. The FLSA requires employers to pay all employees minimum wage and overtime compensation on their scheduled payday after performing their work.

According to the FLSA class action lawsuit, essential workers who worked during the government shutdown were not paid on their scheduled payday for the time they worked from Oct. 1-5, 2013. Although they have since received payment for the time they worked, the government shutdown class action lawsuit alleges that the government’s failure to pay them on their scheduled payday for those five days in October was a violation of the FLSA.

The plaintiffs allege in the government shutdown class action lawsuit that the retroactive payments do not compensate the essential employees for the liquidated damages they are entitled to receive due to the FLSA violation. They seek liquidated damages at the rate of $7.25 per hour times the number of hours worked from Oct. 1-5, 2013 and double the amount of overtime that was unpaid on the regularly scheduled payday. Under the FLSA, liquidated damages are meant to compensate employees for the losses they may have experienced due to the delay in payment and uncertainty of when they would receive pay for the work they performed.

In October 2014, a judge conditionally certified a Class of: “Federal employees (a) identified as of October 1, 2013 for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (‘FLSA’) as employees, pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 203(e)(2)(A); (b) classified as “non-exempt” under the FLSA as of October 1, 2013; (c) declared ‘Excepted Employees’ during the October 2013 partial government shutdown; (d) worked at some time between October 1 and October 5, 2013, other than to assist with the orderly shutdown of their office; and (e) not paid on their regularly scheduled payday for that work between October 1 and October 5, 2013.”

If you believe you qualify to participate but did not receive notice of the class action lawsuit, you can still join the case. According to the scheduling order, the deadline for the submission of signed consent forms by potential plaintiffs is June 29, 2015. Visit www.ShutDownLawsuit.com for more information about the class action lawsuit and how it may affect your legal rights.

The plaintiffs are represented by Heidi R. Burakiewicz, Steven A. Skalet, and Michael D. Lieder of Mehri & Skalet PLLC.

The Government Shutdown Class Action Lawsuit is Martin, et al. v. The United States of America, Case No. 1:13-cv-00834-SGB, in the United States Court of Federal Claims.