5/13/2008
Nichols Kaster & Anderson and the Donati Law Firm have brought a nationwide lawsuit on behalf of hourly workers who are or were employed by Kellogg Company as operators or production workers in any of its numerous plants located across the country.
5/7/2008
Currently, 76 Special Investigators have joined this case for lost wages. In order to join we must have received and filed your consent form by June 2, 2008. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at (877) 448-0492.
5/6/2008
On May 2nd, 2008 we mailed judicial notice out to just over 1100 former and current Network Technicians in the state of Minnesota to notify them about this lawsuit.
5/5/2008
On May 2, 2008, Plaintiffs in the lawsuit Sibley et al v. Sprint Nextel Corp. and Sprint/United Management Co., filed a motion seeking to certify the case as a nationwide class action.
5/1/2008
On April 17, 2008, Nichols Kaster & Anderson sued Countrywide for wage and hour violations under California laws and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
4/15/2008
We are thrilled to announce that today we mailed notices to over 900 former and current loan officers eligible to join this overtime case.
4/15/2008
We are only one month away from the deadline to join this overtime case against Fastenal.
4/9/2008
Nichols Kaster & Anderson sued HSBC again last week for wage and hour violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and California laws.
4/9/2008
Nationwide has agreed that judicial notice of this case should be sent to all potential class members. Special Investigators eligible to participate in this litigation will be receiving notice on or about April 3, 2008.
4/9/2008
On April 8, 2008, a former employee of ATA Airlines, Inc. filed a putative class action lawsuit against ATA Airlines, Inc. and Global Aero Logistics, Inc. for violations of the Worker's Retraining and Notification Act ("WARN Act").
4/8/2008
On March 25, 2008, we received an Order from Judge Montgomery granting our motion for Conditional Class Certification.
4/3/2008
Call center employees represented by Nichols Kaster & Anderson, PLLP filed a wage and hour action against Illinois Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Illinois, SBC Illinois and Ameritech Illinois on April 1, 2008.
4/3/2008
Call center employees represented by the law firm of Nichols Kaster & Anderson, PLLP have brought a putative collective action for unpaid wages and overtime against Wisconsin Bell Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T Midwest. The suit was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin on March 31, 2008.
3/27/2008
On March 27, 2008, a former employee of Starbucks Coffee Company filed a class action lawsuit in Minnesota State Court in Washington County.
3/25/2008
An important deadline is approaching quickly! The Notice period for this lawsuit ends on April 1, 2008, so we can only accept consent forms to join this case for one more week. We currently have 132 clients on the case and continue to receive consent forms. If you have any questions, please contact us toll free at 877-448-0492.
3/24/2008
On March 19, 2008, Judge Maxine Chesney of the Northern District of California gave a sweeping victory to NKA when she conditionally certified a nationwide class of current and former loan officers who were denied overtime.
3/24/2008
On March 24, 2008, the Court granted our motion to strike eighteen of the defenses that Decision One and HSBC pled in the case.
3/17/2008
The case has reached an important point. Perfect Mortgage a/k/a Bergin Financial agreed that notice should be sent to all potential class members.
3/14/2008
Today we added our 500th former Assistant General Manger to the overtime case against Fastenal. We have received an overwhelming response to the Notice sent on February 29th.
2/29/2008
Two more cable companies have been sued this month for wage and hour violations.
2/27/2008
We have filed a Class Action and Collective Action Lawsuit in the U.S. District of New York on behalf of current and former Utilization Review Nurses, Case Management Nurses, Medical Management Nurses and other similar job titles performing substantially similar job duties at WellPoint, Inc.
2/26/2008
We are thrilled to announce that today we mailed notices to over 3,500 former Assistant General Managers eligible to join this overtime case! This is a very important moment in the case. If you received this mailing, you only have until May 14, 2008 to join this case. If you have any questions about what you need to do to join, please contact Dan Wozniak toll free at (877) 448-0492 or click here to download the form you need to complete to join the case.
2/26/2008
On Thursday, February 21, 2008, a complaint for unpaid overtime was filed in Albany, New York by current and former employees against WellPoint, Inc., one of the nation's largest medical health benefits company.
2/20/2008
Nichols Kaster & Anderson Draws Attention to Jury Trial Question
Attorney Steven Andrew Smith represents plaintiff on case that draws attention to the question of whether a plaintiff is entitled to a jury trial in a Minnesota Human Rights Act case under the Minnesota Constitution.
2/12/2008
We have filed a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District of Kansas on behalf of current and former road drivers of Renzenberger, Inc. The lawsuit alleges that Renzenberger violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by misclassifying its road drivers as exempt from the FLSA.
2/11/2008
Lawsuit to Recover Commissions for Sprint Nextel's Retail Employees brought by Nichols Kaster & Anderson, PLLP
Nichols Kaster & Anderson, PLLP has brought a putative nationwide class action lawsuit on behalf of commissioned employees against Sprint Nextel Corporation and Sprint/United Management Company.
2/8/2008
We have filed a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District of Minnesota on behalf of current and former loan officers of American Equity Mortgage. The lawsuit alleges that American Equity Mortgage violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by misclassifying its loan officers as exempt from the FLSA.
1/25/2008
This case has reached a critical point! Rock Financial has agreed that notice of this case should be sent to all potential class members. As such, over 750 individuals eligible to participate in this litigation will be receiving notice on February 1, 2008. Those interested in joining the case have until April 1, 2008 to return a consent form. If you have any questions, please contact us toll free at 877-448-0492.
1/15/2008
Former and current assistant general managers are continuing to join the case on a daily basis.
1/14/2008
The Court just ruled that all AIMCO's leasing consultants, including those who worked at its call centers, should receive notice of their right to participate in the current action for overtime pay.
1/12/2008
We have filed a class action lawsuit in the Central District of California on behalf of current and former Sales Representatives of Anderson Merchandisers, L.P.
12/11/2007
We have filed a class action lawsuit in the Central District of California on behalf of Soma Financial Loan Officers and Loan Processors.
11/28/2007
People continue to join this case daily and the deadline to do so is December 21st.
11/20/2007
On November 16, 2007, The Minnesota District Court granted our motion for partial summary judgment regarding the individual liability of both the President and Vice President of Ace Mortgage Funding, Inc.
11/12/2007
The deadline to join the lawsuit against Qwest on behalf of call center workers is NOVEMBER 17, 2007. To date, more than 1700 current and former call center employees from around the country have joined this lawsuit to demand payment of unpaid wages.
11/1/2007
Nichols Kaster & Anderson Brings Overtime Lawsuit Against Fastenal Company On Behalf of Assistant Managers
10/18/2007
On October 12, 2007, we filed our First Amended Complaint . In this complaint, we added Pennsylvania state claims and expanded the scope of the case. While our initial complaint only included claims on behalf of employees with the Account Manger III and Inside Account Executive job titles, we have included the position title of Account Manager II in the amended complaint. We are also investigating whether any other non-exempt (hourly) positions, such as Account Manager I and Funder, should be included. If you or anyone you know worked in these positions and would like more information about the case, please contact Lucas Kaster at 877-777-0622 or lkaster@nka.com. If you were not paid for overtime you worked as an Inside Account Executive, Account Manager I, Account Manger II, Account Manager III, Funder, or other non-exempt (hourly) position at Decision One, you may submit a Consent Form to join this case.
10/9/2007
We are at a very exciting point in the case! Earlier today, we won a motion to compel. The Court ordered Defendants to produce to us the "call clip library" maintained on its intranet site. We believe these call clips will provide great evidence as they are recorded phone calls between loan consultants and prospective customers.
On Friday, October 5, 2007, we filed a motion for partial summary judgment, asking the Court to find that a loan consultant's primary job duty is to sell loans. On that same day, Defendants filed their motion for summary judgment on several issues including whether Dan B. Gilbert is individually liable as an "employer" under the FLSA and whether a loan consultant's primary job duty is to provide financial consulting services rather than sales.
We do not yet have a hearing date for these summary judgment motions as we have just begun the briefing process. We will update you on the progress of these motions and any Court rulings that may arise as a result of them.
10/3/2007
The deadline to join the lawsuit to recover unpaid wages from Celestica, Adecco, and Spherion for past and present employees from Celestica's Austin, Texas facility is Monday, October 8, 2007. If you were employed at Celestica's Austin facility and are interested in joining this lawsuit your consent form must be postmarked on or before the October 8, 2007 deadline. To download a consent form, please click here . If you do not have access to a printer and would like a consent form sent to you, contact us today and we will send you a consent form immediately. You can return your consent form to us by e-mail at coleman@nka.com, by fax at 612-338-4878, or by mail. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us toll-free at 1-877-448-0492.
9/24/2007
To date, more than 1200 current and former call center employees from around the country have joined this lawsuit to demand payment of unpaid wages. We are still in the discovery phase of this case and are in the process of contacting everyone to answer your questions and obtain additional information from you. There is still time to join this lawsuit to make a claim for your unpaid wages. If you, or someone you know, wish to join this case or have any questions please call us at 1-877-448-0492 as soon as possible. You can also download a Consent Form and fax it to us at 612-338-4878.
9/21/2007
On September 6, 2007 the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a petition for interlocutory appeal brought by Ace Mortgage Funding Inc., in which the company argued that it does not have to comply with the overtime pay requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act because it is a retail or service establishment. The Minnesota District Court previously granted Plaintiffs summary judgment on this issue, finding that Ace's compensation plan violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This marks another failure in the financial services industry's efforts to re-characterize itself as a retail business for the purpose of avoiding the overtime requirements of federal law.
9/20/2007
On September 17, 2007 the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois certified a nationwide overtime collective action against Apartment Investment and Management Company ("AIMCO"). As a result of the Court's order, notice of the action will be sent to thousands of individuals who worked for AIMCO as leasing consultants. Nichols Kaster & Anderson anticipates sending this notice sometime next month.
9/6/2007
We are happy to report that over 2,700 current and former employees of Celestica, Adecco, and Spherion have joined this lawsuit to demand payment of unpaid wages. We are still in the discovery phase of this case. As part of discovery, we recently took the depositions of Celestica and Adecco corporate representatives. We gained some very helpful information from these depositions. We will continue to keep you updated on the progress of this case. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at 1-877-448-0492.
8/15/2007
The law firm of Nichols Kaster & Anderson, PLLP is focused on protecting the rights of employees in cases involving violation of the Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (the WARN Act). Generally, the WARN Act requires companies to provide their employees with 60 days written notice in advance of a mass layoff or plant closing. In the absence of such notice, employers may be liable to each affected employee for 60 days wages and benefits.
With the firm of Outten & Golden LLP (1-877-4-OUTTEN), we are currently pursuing a claim against American Home Mortgage on behalf of its employees who were terminated on August 3, 2007 without any advanced written notice. If you worked at an AHM site with 50 or more employees and were terminated on August 3, 2007, you may be entitled to 60 days wages and benefits. If you believe that AHM has violated your WARN rights, you can contact our firm immediately at 877-448-0492.
8/14/2007
We are still waiting on a ruling from the Court on Defendant's motion to dismiss the action against Rock Financial, a Quicken Loans Company. However, we optimistically continue to seek plaintiffs who would like to pursue overtime claims. If you, or someone you know, has worked as a Mortgage Banker with Rock Financial in the past three years and did not receive overtime compensation, please contact us immediately.
8/8/2007
We are pleased to inform you that the backup tapes containing emails from April - June 2004 are finally being provided to our computer forensics expert. In addition, we recently produced our expert damages report. Defendants' expert damages report is due to us by September 5, 2007. We anticipate that the trial will likely be pushed out a couple of months due to these expert issues. As always, if you have questions about the case, please do not hesitate to contact us.
8/7/2007
The Judge issued an Order today ruling in our favor on some significant issues. First, the Court denied Todd White's motion asking the Court to find that he was not an "employer" and that he should be dismissed from the case. As a result, he must respond to our motion asking the Court to find that property specialists were not properly classified as exempt, within nine days. Second, the Court refused to stay the proceedings against White pending the bankruptcy, so the case against him will move forward. With respect to the bankruptcy action, that case is still pending.
8/6/2007
Over 2,500 Minnesota National Guard Members returned home last month. These uniformed services members are protected by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). Under USERRA, an employer may not deny initial employment, promotions, or other benefits of employment because a person is a member of the uniformed services. USERRA also protects a service member’s right to re-employment upon his or her return from military service. If you believe you have been discriminated against or denied re-employment because of your military service, please contact our office at 1-877-448-0492.
8/1/2007
On Friday, July 30, 2007, Judge Michael J. Davis of the District of Minnesota issued an order granting our Motion for Conditional Class Certification in the overtime lawsuit against Qwest. The Court concluded that Sales Consultants and Sales & Service Consultants were similarly situated nationwide and could proceed through discovery as a class. This is a significant victory in the lawsuit against Qwest as it allows us to send judicial notice of the lawsuit to current and former call center employees of Qwest who worked in both Consumer and Small Business Call Centers as various Sales Consultants and Sales & Service Consultants since August 30, 2003. Qwest has also been ordered to provide NKA with a list of the names and addresses of these employees; we expect the size of the potential class to be more than 8,000 individuals. If you have any information or questions about this, or need to update your contact information, please contact us at 1-877-448-0492.
7/18/2007
With the exception of a small group of people who have already been notified, the deadline to join the lawsuit to recover unpaid wages from Celestica, Adecco, and Spherion is Monday, July 23, 2007. If you have any questions about your deadline, please contact us as soon as possible.
7/2/2007
Currently, approximately forty individuals have joined this case, and that number continues to increase daily. Our Motion for Conditional Class Certification and Court-Approved Notice is currently pending with the Court.
6/29/2007
The case against Celestica, Adecco, and Spherion for unpaid wages is progressing well. To date, over 2,000 people have joined this lawsuit to demand compensation for unpaid work time! We are at the beginning of the stage of litigation called “discovery.” During this phase, the parties exchange information relating to the case. As part of the discovery phase, we recently inspected the Celestica facility in Charlotte, North Carolina. We gained a lot of valuable information at this inspection.
6/26/2007
We have filed a class action lawsuit in the Central District of California on behalf of thousands of hourly workers who worked at Celestica Corporation's facility in Fontana, CA. The suit seeks unpaid wages for time that employees of Celestica and Adecco, USA Inc. spent waiting to pass through security screening, as well as compensation for denied meal and rest periods. The lawsuit is entitled Cervantez et al. v. Celestica Corp. et al. If you worked in Celesttica's Frontana, CA facility in the last four years and would like more information about the case, please contact us at 1-877-448-0492.
6/26/2007
We received the order we were awaiting from the Minnesota Court and have now re-filed our clients' claims in the states in which they worked. The cases are now moving forward again and we will try to keep them moving as quickly as possible.
6/25/2007
We will be meeting with the Judge on July 10, 2007, to set a timeline and schedule for this case. At that time we will also present the Judge with a motion requesting that AIMCO provide us with a list of current and former leasing consultants so we can notify them of this action. So far, individuals from at least thirteen states have filed overtime claims in this action.
5/15/2007
The Court issued a Scheduling Order setting this case for a trial date of November 5, 2007. We are very excited about having a trial before the end of the year. Currently, we are in the process of calculating damages for all the Plaintiffs involved in the case and preparing our supplemental expert report. We recently finished combing through the over 91,000 emails produced by Quicken and are in the process of obtaining even more emails as the Court ruled in our favor and ordered Quicken to produce to us all emails sent and received for the month of May 2004. We consider this to be a big victory as the emails contain great evidence related to the issues at the heart of this litigation.
5/11/2007
In April, Nichols, Kaster & Anderson moved for conditional class certification in our case on behalf of loan officer who were denied overtime pay while working for Defendant Premier Mortgage Funding. The court granted that motion earlier this week.
5/11/2007
Last week, Nichols, Kaster & Anderson filed a lawsuit against HSBC Mortgage Corp. The lawsuit, filed as a putative class and collective action, alleges that HSBC failed to pay proper overtime compensation to its loan officers, and retaliated against an employee who complained about the practice. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in the Northern District of California alleging violations of both federal and state wage and hour laws. We are now waiting for the Defendant to answer the Complaint. In the meantime, if you have any lists or names of current or former loan officers, please send them to us immediately so that we can notify these individuals of this lawsuit. With each day that passes, these individuals may be losing a day of overtime pay. If you have any questions please contact us toll free at 1-877-448-0492. The case is Wong et al. v. HSBC Mortgage et al, case no. 07-2446.
1/24/2007
This case is still in the early discovery stages. We will be taking the deposition of a Qwest corporate representative in February. By March 1, 2007, we will be asking the Court to conditionally certify a class of employees who worked for Qwest in the St. Paul call center within the past 3 years. There is still time to join this case to make a claim for unpaid wages and overtime. If you know of any current or former Call Center Sales Consultants or Sales and Service Consultants who wish to join the lawsuit, please have them contact us at 612-256-3200.
1/24/2007
On December 15, 2006, we brought three very important motions to the Court: a motion to amend the complaint to add nationwide claims and state law claims, a motion for conditional class certification and judicial notice, and a motion to compel nationwide discovery. On January 8, 2007, we participated in a hearing before Judge Noel of the District of Minnesota. We asked the Court to allow the Plaintiffs to amend their complaint to include allegations that Celestica and Adecco failed to properly pay production employees at Celestica locations nationwide. We also asked the Court to grant conditional certification of the collective class and allow the Plaintiffs to send judicial notice of this lawsuit to all individuals who worked at Celestica facilities nationwide in a production capacity within the last three years. Finally, we asked the Court to require Celestica and Adecco to give the Plaintiffs information regarding their policies and practices on a nationwide scale. We also asked the Court to require Spherion to produce a corporate representative for a deposition.
10/23/2006
We are currently waiting for the judge to rule on our Motion for Summary Judgment. We will keep you updated throughout this process. In the meantime, if you have any questions, or if any of your contact information has changed, please call us toll-free at (877) 448-0492.
10/20/2006
Nichols, Kaster & Anderson, PLLP, has filed a suit against the state of Minnesota. A former safety inspector for the Occupational Safety and Health Division has alleged that big companies got special treatment.
10/9/2006
In addition to the $300,000.00 awarded to Megan Maule by a jury in September, the Judge awarded her an additional $144,500.00, or five years, of future wage loss.
10/6/2006
On October 3, 2006, a Minnesota state court jury awarded Brian Kidwell $197,000 on his whistleblower claims against his former employer, Sybaritic, Inc. Post-trial motions for attorney’s fees, costs and interest are pending. Sofia Andersson of Nichols Kaster & Anderson, PLLP was lead trial counsel for Mr. Kidwell.
9/27/2006
In August 2006, Nichols, Kaster & Anderson, PLLP filed a collective action against Qwest claiming that its pay practices violate the Fair Labor Standards Act. All call center sales consultants and all sales and service consultants working in Minnesota within the past three years are eligible for this case. For more information, please contact our firm at 877-448-0492.
9/27/2006
Nichols, Kaster & Anderson, PLLP has filed a class action lawsuit against GEICO challenging the manner in which the company determines rates for auto insurance policies. NKA has asked the court to certify a class of all African-Americans who hold, or have held, GEICO auto insurance policies issued on or after April 3, 2000. For more information, please contact our firm at 877-448-0492.
7/26/2006
In response to a lawsuit charging the company with violating the Minnesota Cold Weather Rule, CenterPoint Energy has agreed to settle the suit for $13.5 million.
7/25/2006
Cara LaBrie and Robbi Pickeral, two former female sportswriters at the Pioneer Press, filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), alleging sexual discrimination.