Chicago Business Litigation Lawyer Blog
Every man and woman who goes to work each day has the right to be paid for his or her labor, but sometimes the companies for whom they work either fail to do so, or miscalculate the wages that they owe their employees. Those miscalculations may be intentional or they may be by mistake, but that does not change the fact that they must pay for the errors. At Lubin Austermuehle, we represent many workers who were not paid the regular and overtime wages they are owed, and our Barrington class-action overtime attorneys are always tracking new court cases in the field of wage and hour law.
One recent case from the US District Court in the Northern District of Illinois is Chavez v. Don Stoltzner Mason Contractor, Inc. The action was filed by Plaintiffs, who were former employees of Defendant and provided masonry installation services to Defendant. Plaintiffs claimed that Defendant illegally adjusted their time records downward to avoid paying them the required time-and-a-half rate for the overtime that they worked. Plaintiffs also alleged that they were required to work on Saturdays without pay for an extended period as well. Eventually, Plaintiffs filed a class-action in Illinois state court alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Illinois Minimum Wage Law (IMWL) for unpaid overtime wages. Defendant subsequently removed the case to federal court. Plaintiffs then sought to certify an IMWL class-action under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 and pursue their FLSA claims individually.
The Court granted class certification under Rule 23(b)(3), holding that the numerosity requirement was met because there were between seventy and 130 potential plaintiffs, and joinder of that many actions would be impracticable. Next, the Court found Rule 23’s commonality requirement was met because Defendant had a common practice of underpaying its employees’ overtime wages, and the typicality requirement was satisfied because all potential plaintiffs’ claims were based upon the same violations of the IMWL. Because there was no evidence the named Plaintiffs had a conflict of interest with the remaining class members and their counsel was deemed competent to pursue their claims, the Court found that the class was adequately represented. Finally, in granting class certification, the Court held that there was a single common issue (Defendant’s policy of not compensating employees for overtime) overriding the litigation, and that a class-action was the superior method for resolving the claims.
Lubin Austermuehle has wage claim attorneys who focus on nationwide class-action lawsuits and who have handled many overtime cases over the years. Our Chicago overtime lawyers are intimately familiar with the issues that arise during class-action wage claim litigation, and we know the laws that govern overtime cases well. When employees do not receive the wages that they have earned, a lawsuit is an efficient and expedient way to recover those unpaid amounts. Lubin Austermuehle is based in Chicago, but we represent clients throughout the country who have not been paid for the overtime hours that they have worked. If you believe that you are owed overtime wages, contact one of our Aurora wage and hour attorneys by phone at 1 630-333-0333, or through our online form.