On March 16, 2007, employees of VLM, Inc., most from Pakistan and Central and South America, filed a class action lawsuit against VLM in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the New York Labor Law. The plaintiffs, represented by private counsel, asked the court for monetary relief, alleging they were owed overtime pay. Specifically, the plaintiffs claimed that VLM had engaged in a policy and practice of requiring their employees to regularly work over 10 hours per day, without providing overtime compensation as required by federal and state law.

On October 11, 2007, the Court (Judge John Gleeson) authorized notice of a class action under the FLSA's provisions for collective actions, allowing similarly situated employees to opt into the lawsuit. Guzman v. VLM, Inc., No. 07-CV-1126, 2007 WL 2994278 (E.D.N.Y. Oct. 11, 2007). After notice had been issued and only four additional VLM employees had opted in, on March 2, 2008, the Court (Judge Gleeson) certified a traditional Rule 23 opt-out class action to pursue claims under state law, finding that employees' evident fear of retaliation for participating in the opt-in process justified the additional approach. Guzman v. VLM, Inc., No. 07-CV-1126, 2008 WL 597186 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 2, 2008).

The parties began discussing a settlement later that year, and came to an agreement in July of 2009. The settlement agreement required VLM to pay a total of $540,000 in FLSA class claims and legal fees. On August 14, 2009, the Court (Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes, Jr.) entered a consent decree approving the settlement and maintained jurisdiction to ensure the terms of the settlement were enforced. After the payments were made, the Court (Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto) dismissed the case on September 29, 2010.

Christopher Schad - 05/31/2012


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