INTRODUCTION

On June 19, 2007, a number of current and former Battelle employees filed a class action lawsuit to recover unpaid wages and overtime.  The Representative plaintiffs filed this lawsuit individually and as a class action on behalf of other former and current Battelle employees.  The representative plaintiffs were or are employed as Monitoring Technicians or Laboratory Technicians by Battelle at the TOCDF in Tooele, Utah.

This lawsuit is filed because we believe that it is Battelle's policy and practice to deny wages and overtime pay to its Monitoring or Laboratory Technicians (or comparable positions with different titles) at the TOCDF in Tooele, Utah. Battelle's deliberate failure to pay employees their earned wages and overtime compensation violates the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and Utah Payment of Wages Act ("UPWA"). Therefore, this lawsuit is brought as a collective action (class action) to recover unpaid wages and overtime compensation and interest thereon, liquidated damages and other penalties under the Federal and Utah laws.

BATTELLE'S POLICIES AND PRACTICES AT ISSUE IN THIS LAWSUIT

If you work or worked as a Monitoring Technician or Laboratory Technician or in a similar position, at the TOCDF for Battelle, our investigation suggests you were supposed to be paid for all the time you were permitted or required to work. Further, any time you were permitted to work over 40 hours in a week should have been paid to you at a rate of time and one-half.

Our investigation into Battelle has revealed wage and hour issues including:

	Not paying for time, from the time employees picked up their mask carriers at the mask trailer to the time they arrived at the work station at the beginning of their shift;
	Not paying for time at the end of the shift from the time the employees left the PMB building to the time they deposited their mask carriers back at the mask trailer; and
	Not paying for the 30-minute lunch breaks during which the, among other restrictions, the employees:   are required to be "on call" at all times including during the lunch breaks; are not permitted to leave the work-site; are required to respond to call backs immediately; and are frequently and regularly called back to work frequently

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO JOIN THIS LAWSUIT

The named Plaintiffs seek to sue on behalf of themselves and also on behalf of other current and former Battelle employees with whom they are similarly situated.

To join the lawsuit, you need to:

1. have worked for Battelle in the past four years (from June 19, 2004);

2. you are an hourly employee who works or worked as a monitoring technician or a a laboratory technician at the TOCDF, Tooele, Utah,

Additionally, you can contact us to see if you qualify.  We will keep any information you provide strictly confidential.

Your Right to Participate in the Suit

If you fit the definition above, you may join this lawsuit (that is, you may "opt in") and allow us to investigate your claim by mailing the "consent form" to Plaintiffs' counsel at the following address:

Attn: Battelle Class Counsel
Law Office of Jesse Brar, P.C.
670 East 3900 South, Suite 101
Salt Lake City, UT 84107

If you file a "Consent Form”, your continued right to participate in the suit may depend upon a later decision by the District Court that you and the Plaintiffs in this action are actually "similarly situated" in accordance with federal law.

EFFECTS OF JOINING THIS LAWSUIT

If you choose to join this lawsuit, you will be bound by the Judgment, whether it is favorable or unfavorable. While this suit is proceeding, you may be required to respond to written questions, sit for depositions and/or testify. The attorneys for the class will work to ensure this is with minimum inconvenience to you.

By joining this lawsuit, you designate the class representatives as your agents to make decisions on your behalf concerning the litigation, the method and manner of conducting this litigation, including the settlement therefore, the entering of an agreement with Plaintiffs' counsel concerning attorneys' fees and costs, and all other matters pertaining to this lawsuit.  These decisions and agreements made and entered into by the representative Plaintiffs will be binding on you if you join this lawsuit. The named-plaintiffs understand that, as class representatives, they assume a fiduciary responsibility to the Class members, to represent their interests fairly and adequately. Plaintiffs recognize that as class representatives, they must represent and consider the interests of the Class just as they would represent and consider their own interests.

LEGAL EFFECT OF NOT JOINING THIS LAWSUIT

If you choose not to join this lawsuit, you will not be affected by any judgment or settlement rendered in this case as to the federal claims, whether favorable or unfavorable to the class. If you choose not to join in this lawsuit, you are free to file your own lawsuit under federal law. However, if you delay in joining this lawsuit, the statute of limitations will bar any recovery for two or three years prior to joining or commencing such an action.

NO RETALIATION PERMITTED

Federal law prohibits Battelle from discharging or in any other manner discriminating against you because you have exercised your rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Your Legal Representation if You Join

If you choose to join this lawsuit your interests will be represented by the named Plaintiffs through their attorneys as counsel for the class. Counsel for the class are:

Jesse S. Brar

Law Office of Jesse Brar, P.C.
670 East 3900 South, Suite 101
Salt Lake City, UT 84107
Tel:  (801) 269-9541

Fax: (801) 269-9581

Email:  jesse@battelleclassaction.com

Sharon Preston

Sharon L. Preston, P.C.
670 East 3900 South, Suite 101
Salt Lake City, UT 84107

Tel:  (801) 269-9541

Fax: (801) 269-9581

Email:  sharon@battelleclassaction.com

 

Mick G. Harrison

Pro Hac Vice              

128 Main Street, P.O. Box 467

Berea, KY 40403

Tel:  (859) 986-0868, (859) 321-1586        

Fax: (859) 986-2695

Email: mickharrisonesq@earthlink.net

FURTHER INFORMATION

If you have any questions or need further information about this lawsuit or about filing a "consent form,” please contact the class counsel.

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