The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 2814 and the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Enter Into $2.6 Million Settlement of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) & Overtime Union Grievance

Washington, DC. The United States Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 2814 announced that a settlement had been reached in the FLSA & Overtime Grievance filed against the FRA.

Demonstrating its commitment to ensure that the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is fully complied with by all managers and supervisory personnel within the FRA, AFGE Local 2814, led by President Scott Hoose, filed a Grievance in 2018 on behalf of all FRA bargaining unit employees. The essence of the action was that certain employees were erroneously designated as exempt from the FLSA and that those and many others were not properly or at all compensated for overtime work performed. The FLSA is a federal law ensuring employees are properly paid for overtime work – this includes being paid overtime when working early, late and during lunch breaks.

AFGE Local 2814 is pleased to have resolved this matter through cooperative efforts with the FRA.

The terms of the settlement provide for the FRA to pay a total of $2,587,500 to resolve all claims made by the Union, including those on behalf of current and former employees who were not compensated properly. In addition, the FRA agreed that a significant number of employees previously declared FLSA exempt will be covered by the FLSA and hereafter compensated accordingly. This settlement reflects the FRA’s cooperation and commitment to compliance with the FLSA.

The Union was represented in this case by the Law Offices of Snider & Associates, LLC. Snider & Associates has resolved numerous similar cases against federal government agencies nationwide over the past several decades. “Both sides worked together here to reach a mutually beneficial resolution,” said counsel Jacob Y. Statman, adding “this settlement will help ensure the FRA complies with the regulations under the FLSA and will protect both current and future employees.” “This resolution was years in the making and eliminated the need for what would have surely been many additional years of protracted and costly litigation,” noted Snider & Associates attorney and senior litigator Keith Kauffman.

Class Action Implementation Group (CAIG) will be handling the settlement implementation and distribution process. AFGE Local 2814 President Hoose requests that employee inquiries concerning the matter be directed to CAIG at afge2814@caig.co.