Magistrate Judge James Francis
A putative collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) alleged denial of overtime pay to workers at defendants’ restaurant. A Sept. 11, 2012, order provided employees 60 days to opt in. Based on a Dec. 20 lettersupported by an affidavit by employee Nemesa hearing was held into Nemes’ claim that he was summoned to a meeting with the restaurant’s owners and instructed to signwithout readinga document falsely stating that he had not worked overtime, wished to release defendants from liability and did not wish to opt into the FLSA collective action. Reasoning from In re Currency Conversion Fee Antitrust Litigation and Goody v. Jefferson County, the court found it inherently coercive for defendants to seek statements that employees lacked claims for unpaid wages. Although such a statement is not a binding waiver of rights under the FLSA, an employee could well sign such a statement without fully recognizing the extent of his rights and potential claims under the FLSA. The court found the appropriate remedy to be a notice, by defendants, that their employees have not waived any claims for unpaid wages by virtue of signing the subject statements at issue, followed by the opt-in period’s extension for 30 days.
