The full order can be read here. 

In April 2018, our client began working at Eclipse Advantage, LLC. as an Industrial Athlete. When he was hired, Eclipse told our client he would be paid weekly and based on “productivity” rather than at a set rate. Specifically, Eclipse told our client the more trucks he unloaded in less time, the more money he would make. 

Our client, as well as similarly situated workers (Putative Class Members), were not given a set work schedule and hours worked depended on a variety of factors, including how busy it was in any given week. Additionally, Eclipse paid Putative Class Members different rates for the same hours in the same position. 

The Putative Class Members were not properly compensated for hours worked and in general, did not receive overtime pay, even if they worked more than 40 hours during a work week. Eclipse Advantage, LLC. deducted time from the Putative Class Members’ shifts to prevent them from receiving overtime. Specifically, Eclipse deducted lunch breaks from each employee’s shift even though Putative Class Members were so busy they were unable to take a lunch break. 

The Court certified the Settlement Class as all Industrial Athletes who worked at Eclipse from April 14, 2017 through January 8, 2021, therefore the Class Members will receive financial benefits from the Settlement Fund. 

In January, our client was terminated from his job at Eclipse Advantage, LLC. after calling off work due to exhaustion and raising issues concerning his unfair pay.

The court’s certification of the settlement finds the Settlement Agreement is “fair, reasonable, adequate, and in the best interest of the Settlement Class Members.”

Kennedy Hunt, P.C. believes employees deserve fair pay and equitable working conditions. Our recent win grants our client and the Settlement Class Members relief and requires Eclipse to pay them through the Settlement Fund.    

For further information about this case, please contact attorney Sarah Jane Hunt at (314) 872-9041 or sarahjane@kennedyhuntlaw.com. If you or someone you know has been a victim of unpaid wages and/or employment discrimination, our skilled attorneys at Kennedy Hunt, P.C. may be able to help you. Fill out a questionnaire so we can understand your claim. 

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Equip for Equality, an organization who advocates for persons with disabilities, and the Department of Justice filed amicus curiae, or “friend of the court,” briefs supporting our clients. In their brief, Equip for Equality argues that persons with disabilities benefit from community living, that Illinois has very few persons with disabilities in their communities, and that Springfield’s actions completely interfere with the right of our clients to enjoy their community. The brief filed by Equip for Equality can be read here, with more information available on their website.

Similarly, the Department of Justice argues in support of the August ruling that the zoning code enforced by the city intentionally discriminates against persons with disabilities who live in group homes, and that their failure to accommodate our clients by refusing a special use permit is in violation of the Fair Housing Act. The full brief filed by the Department of Justice can be read here.

Oral argument in this matter is scheduled for early February 2018.  

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Under the Age Discrimination Act, it is illegal to exclude a person based on their age from participating in any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. Colleges and universities, like SIUE, are expressly named as a “program or activity” protected by the Age Discrimination Act.

The Plaintiff was initially rejected from admission into the Nurse Anesthetist Program in 2012. The lawsuit alleges that the Plaintiff was told by various sources familiar with the program, including a current student, that she was rejected from the Program due to her age as she was “too old.”

After admission in 2013, the Plaintiff faced repeated questioning about her age from her clinical placements and received criticism about her academic performance from her instructors, despite receiving a GPA of 3.8 during her first year of coursework and a positive response from supervisors during her first year of clinical rotation.

The Plaintiff was explicitly told by a CNRA who was reviewing her work with the Program that older students, like the Plaintiff, faced much more opposition from the University.

After several years of difficulty and opposition from SIUE, Plaintiff was voted to be terminated from the program in 2015. She now seeks reinstatement into the program.

More on this lawsuit can be read in a recent article published by the Belleville News Democrat, published in the summer of 2017, available to read here.

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This lawsuit alleges that during the years Plaintiff worked for the Defendant, Plaintiff often worked in excess of forty hours per week, sometimes working nights and weekends to accomplish tasks set by the Defendant.

This lawsuit also alleges that despite benefiting from the extra work completed by Plaintiff, the Defendant did not pay Plaintiff for the hours he worked in excess of forty per week. This allowed the Defendant to gain excess profit in lieu of paying Plaintiff overtime. The Defendant also failed to place employee’s rights posters where Plaintiff worked.

The Fair Labor Standards Act and the Missouri Minimum Wage Law require compensation for any work in excess of 40 hours per week at a rate no less than one and one-half (1 ½) times the regular rate of pay. By failing to pay Plaintiff overtime hours, the Defendant is in violation of these laws.

This lawsuit seeks to recover damages equivalent to the unpaid overtime wages owed to the Plaintiff by the Defendant; as well as liquidated damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, and attorneys’ fees and court costs.

If you believe you are not being paid correctly, contact us today for an evaluation of your claim. The Kennedy Hunt, P.C., III has experienced litigation attorneys ready to handle wage and hour cases for both Missouri and Illinois clients.

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