Government Can’t Transfer DHS Wage Class Action Lawsuit

U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Charles F. Lettow has denied a government motion to transfer a wage and hour class action lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security to the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska, saying that a transfer would be inappropriate because it has jurisdiction over lead plaintiff Tamara Barry and other plaintiffs’ claims.

The plaintiffs in the wage class action lawsuit are present and former employees of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Office of Fraud Detection and National Security, who allege that “they were wrongly classified as exempt from the FLSA prior to Feb. 12, 2012 and request back pay at the appropriate rate for any and all hours worked in excess of eight hours per day or 40 hours per week, as well as declarative relief.”

Plaintiffs in the wage and hour lawsuit allege that prior to February 2012, they were misclassified as  exempt from the FLSA and were reclassified as non-exempt in February 2012. According to the plaintiffs, they “did not have any change in duties prior to/or subsequent to the Agency’s conversion of them from exempt to non-exempt.” They claimed that their positions are consistent with duties that are non-exempt.

On Sept. 5, 2013, the government filed a motion to transfer the class action case to the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska as they challenged the court’s jurisdiction over the plaintiffs’ claims.

Judge Lettow’s opinion said that the Tucker Act is what “provides this court with jurisdiction over claims for monetary relief against the United States. Under the Tucker Act of 1887, the U.S. wained its sovereign immunity to certain kinds of claims.” Generally, the government is immune from lawsuits but the Tucker Act exposes it to liability for certain claims.

“Congress never excluded FLSA claims from this court’s purview, either expressly or impliedly,” Judge Lettow opined. “This court is appropriately a ‘competent’ court within the terms of the FLSA when jurisdiction is invoked under the Tucker Act.”

The Department of Homeland Security Wage Class Action Lawsuit is Tamara Barry, et al. v. United States, Case No. 13-457C, in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

Going up against a large corporation for wage and hour violations can be daunting, but banding together with other victims through a class action lawsuit can save you time, money and resources. If you were the victim of a wage and hour violation, learn more about your rights and obtain a free case review at the Wage & Hour, Overtime Pay Class Action Lawsuit Investigation.