Diana Nobile
Fri, 02/04/2022
On December 29, 2021, U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe approved a $42.9 Million Settlement Agreement in a lawsuit brought by 1,199 current and former Child Protective Specialists and Child Protective Specialist Supervisors (CPS and CPSS) employed by the City of New York’s Administration for Children’s Services alleging unpaid overtime. The CPS and CPSS are members of AFSCME Local 371.
The Settlement Agreement provides for an average net settlement amount, after fees are paid, of $24,900 to the 1,199 individual Plaintiffs.
McGillivary Steele Elkin LLP and Spivak Lipton LLP brought this case on behalf of the CPS and CPSS under the Fair Labor Standards Act for unpaid overtime work that results from the employees grueling job duties keeping New York City children safe from harm. During the litigation, Judge Gardephe ruled that the City failed to pay overtime compensation for work CPS and CPSS performed during the pre-shift, post-shift, and lunchtime hours despite “overwhelming evidence” that such work had been performed. He further ruled that for purposes of the plaintiffs’ claims they were all “similarly situated” such that representative testimony could be used at the trial on damages. Following this ruling, the case settled.
