Pa. iron works company sued for alleged overtime pay violations

A Northeastern Pennsylvania man has filed a class action lawsuit against a Pennsylvania iron works company alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act relating to alleged overtime pay violations.

Shawn Wolfe, of Courtdale, Pa., filed the suit against Mountaintop, Pa.-based Cornell Iron Works Inc. The suit, which seeks class action status, was filed on behalf of Wolfe and others similarly situated.

The lawsuit, which was filed Feb. 23 at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by New Jersey attorneys Justin L. Swidler and Richard S. Swartz, claims that the defendant has maintained an unlawful wage payment system for at least the past three years, and has enforced such unlawful policies against all of its non-exempt hourly employees who perform manual labor in Mountaintop.

The plaintiff and potential plaintiffs in the suit do not have a collective bargaining agreement in relation to their employment with the defendant.

The lawsuit claims that the company required and continues to require the plaintiffs to report to work at a location where the safety equipment is stored, yet they aren’t allowed to clock in until they arrive at a job site.

The plaintiffs must also clock out at the job site before returning to the reporting location to remove their safety gear.

The complaint alleges that the amount of unpaid time per working day the plaintiffs spend donning and doffing their safety gear and walking to and from the reporting location and the job site varies, but is typically between 10 to 30 minutes per day.

“Much of this uncompensated time consists of time worked in excess of 40 hours per workweek, and accordingly, by failing to pay Named Plaintiff and Plaintiffs for this time, Defendants are failing to pay proper overtime compensation,” the lawsuit states. “The aforementioned conduct has caused damages to Named Plaintiff and Plaintiffs because the conduct results in a failure of Defendants to pay for 1-3 overtime hours per week.”

The plaintiffs seek to have the company prohibited from carrying out its illegal policy, and also seek past lost earnings, liquidated damages and attorney’s fees.

A jury trial has been demanded.

The federal case number is 2:12-cv-00950-JD.