New York State employees seeking overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act are eligible for the liquidated damages and attorneys’ fees under federal law, but only within the state’s six-month statute of limitations, a Court of Claims judge has ruled.
The ruling by Judge Francis T. Collins is of great significance to both the State and the dozens of workers seeking overtime pay, typically for the time they spend traveling between work sites. It recognizes the right of the workers to bring a Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) in state court, but opens only a narrow window of opportunity to pursue such claims.
