Overtime pay claims for cable installers in southeast Michigan may go forward with judicial notice to the potential class, federal judge rules. Overtime pay attorneys at Nacht Law, together with Boston Law Firm of Lichten & Liss-Riordan PC filed the FLSA case last year on behalf of former cable installers for the White Lake based company AMcomm. The lawsuit alleges that named Plaintiffs and many other similarly situated were inappropriately classified as independent contractors and denied overtime pay and other benefits of employment as a result.
Like many of the overtime pay cases under federal law, the lawsuit presented a common challenge of informing all potentially misclassified independent contractors of the ability to pursue their rights in a collective lawsuit. Conditional certification, as it is called, is only the first step toward securing the overtime pay rights of workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act. However, it is a crucial step. Employees who are misclassified independent contractors deserve the right to know that they can be represented and may be entitled to time-and-a-half overtime pay for all hours over 40 in a week.
In a recent Order from Judge Nancy G. Edmunds in the Eastern District of Michigan, the court conditionally certified the class of persons who, at any time since September 17, 2009 have worked as cable installation technicians for AMcomm Telecommunications, Inc. out of the White Lake, Michigan, warehouse and who have been classified as independent contractors without overtime pay. The Court certified that the affidavits submitted by the Plaintiff and his co-workers made sufficient allegations against AMcomm and therefore concluded that the Plaintiff has met the lenient standard to allow for providing notice to the class.
The overtime pay lawyers at Nacht, Roumel & Walker, PC are committed to advising and representing Michigan employees of their rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act and other wage and hour law. For updates on the GAB or AmComm cable installer cases, or for information on how individuals can choose to take part, contact plaintiff’s attorney David Blanchard.