No. HKM Employment Attorneys LLP and Outten & Golden LLP (“Plaintiffs’ Counsel”) are handling this case on a contingent basis and will only be paid when we win through a settlement or final judgment.

The case covers claims for overtime under the federal FLSA and the wage hour statutes of New York. The specific violations claimed are that, by paying a salary alone, NYU Langone failed to pay overtime wages at the rate of time and one half to IT Support Employees who respond to requests for IT assistance. The mere fact that an employer pays a salary does not avoid the requirement to pay overtime at the rate of time and one half. The case also covers unpaid overtime wages under New York’s labor laws and claims under the New York Wage Theft Prevention Act (“WTPA”). The New York WTPA requires employers to provide accurate wage statements every pay period and requires proper notice upon hiring, in English and in the primary language of the employee, of the terms and conditions of employment.

The FLSA claims in this lawsuit cover workers who worked for NYU Langone anywhere in the United States but the New York Labor Law and WTPA claims only cover the affected workers who work or worked in New York state. Please call HKM Employment Attorneys, LLP at 212-439-4781 if you worked for a different NYU Langone department and you also did not receive overtime pay.

Damages sought under the FLSA and New York law include back overtime wages, an equal amount of liquidated damages, interest, and fees and costs for each violation as well as statutory damages under the New York law for violations of the WTPA. Under the overtime laws, a losing defendant is required to pay for workers’ attorneys’ fees and costs.

Under the FLSA, you are entitled to make claims for the period extending back three years from the date your Consent to Sue is filed in Court. NYU Langone will be entitled to argue that its violations weren’t willful and that your claims should therefore be limited to a two-year period preceding the filing of your Consent to Sue Form. This two or three year period is called the “statute of limitations.” The New York claims go back six years from the date the Complaint was filed in Court.

To bring claims under the FLSA for back wages and an equal amount of liquidated damages in this action, you must affirmatively join the case by filling out a Consent to Sue Form and returning it to HKM Employment Attorneys, LLP to be filed with the Court. Even individuals who do not fill out a consent to sue form MAY be part of the state wage claims which are brought as a class action, but only IF the Court ultimately decides that the case may go forward as a class action. Individuals who want to present all of their claims to the Court should fill out the Consent to Sue form and return it to HKM Employment Attorneys, LLP to be filed with the Court.

You are not part of the FLSA case until your Consent to Sue Form is returned to Plaintiffs’ Counsel and filed. If you delay filing the Consent to Sue Form, part or all of your claim may be barred by the statute of limitations.

The law prohibits retaliation for joining an overtime lawsuit. If any employee suffers retaliation, NYU Langone would be liable for those violations and resulting damages. Although retaliation is rare in overtime cases because employers can suffer serious penalties, please notify us immediately if you think any retaliation occurs.

Employers are generally permitted to contact unrepresented employees about a case, that is, until they have filed a Consent to Sue Form, as long as they are not deceptive, coercive, or do not try to dissuade workers from participating in a case. This also means that employers and their attorneys are not permitted to coerce employees into making statements that can later harm their ability to join a lawsuit or otherwise interfere with their claims. Here are the rules for employers’ attorney’s contacts with employees about a case: First, employers’ attorneys should advise employees that they should secure their own counsel before speaking with the attorney. Second, attorneys for the employer may not give employees legal advice. Third, employers’ attorneys are not permitted to give false or misleading information about a case. Fourth, they are required to inform an employee that they represent the company and that the employee is not required to give a statement. You should know that statements that employees give to employers or their attorneys are generally sought to defend the company against the lawsuit seeking back wages the company may owe its employees, including wages owed to the specific employee giving the statement. HKM Employment Attorneys, LLP and Outten & Golden LLP strongly believe that employees who may have back wage claims should NOT give statements to an employer or their attorneys without receiving legal advice first. If you are asked to provide information or give a statement, you can contact HKM Employment Attorneys, LLP at 212-439-4781 immediately. The call is free and confidential.