On February 1, 2006, attorneys with the Immigrant Justice Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana filed a class action lawsuit in the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on behalf of over 1000 workers employed by Belfor USA Group, Inc., a major natural disaster reconstruction firm that provided rebuilding services in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. Plaintiffs alleged that Defendant and its subcontractors had exploited Plaintiffs, most of whom were poor migrants who did not speak English, by making them work seven days a week, 12 hours a day, in poor conditions, restoring and cleaning buildings and other property contaminated by mold, flood water and/or smoke. Plaintiffs alleged that the employment practices of Defendant violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. §201 et seq. by grossly under paying them and denying them overtime pay.

Shortly after the initial lawsuit was filed, Plaintiffs settled the case with Defendant, who agreed to pay all unpaid overtime wages plus additional penalties (totaling 145% of wages owed), and to change certain business practices to ensure all workers on future Belfor projects were paid according to the FLSA. The District Court (Judge Jay C. Zainey) approved the settlement on September 7, 2006, and certified the case as a collective action under the FLSA, with a class defined as all individuals employed by any subcontractors on Belfor projects in the Gulf Coast arising from storm damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. Affected employees were given one year to opt into the class and accept the settlement amount.

After the initial case was settled, a separate suit, Obando et al v. Belfor USA Group, Inc., case # 2:06-cv-07804-GTP-DEK, was filed against Belfor for claims that arose before and after the Hurricane Katrina clean up in other states, other projects not covered by the Xavier v. Belfor USA Group, Inc. Docket 2:06-cv-00491-GTP-DEK, and any individuals not included in the Settlement Class. On March 13, 2007, the Obando suit was consolidated with Xavier v. Belfor USA Group, Inc. and all further pleadings bore the consolidated case #06-cv-00491. The Obando plaintiffs sought certification of a nationwide class action for alleged violations by Belfor and its subcontractors of the FLSA and the wage and hour laws of California, Illinois, Louisiana and Pennsylvania. A third amended complaint was filed on May 10, 2007.

Defendants moved to dismiss the amended complaint. Plaintiffs responded by filing an opposition memorandum with attached exhibits. Defendants moved to strike the exhibits from plaintiffs' response. The District Court (G. Thomas Porteous, Jr.) granted the motion in part, ruling that it would not consider several exhibits when ruling on the motion to dismiss. Xavier v. Belfor USA Group, Inc., 2007 WL 4224320, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87028 (E.D.La. Nov 26, 2007).

Dan Dalton - 12/10/2007


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