Frequently Asked Questions
Questions
What do I have to do to ask for any money I may be owed?
Should current employees be afraid of submitting this form?
Do I need to pay any money to join?
Should I let others know about this case?
How did Alderwoods not pay overtime correctly?
What if I knew I was not going to be paid for this time?
What if I don’t have any time records to show how much time I worked?
How can I know whether this is illegal?
Do I have any deadlines I need to worry about, or can I wait to see what happens with this case?
How can I tell if I qualify for this lawsuit?
How much money would I be entitled to?
What are the primary goals of this lawsuit?
What is the status of the case?
Answers
What do I have to do to ask for any money I may be owed?
To be able to receive any money you are owed for the unpaid federal wages, you need to complete this consent form in time. Every day that passes can reduce the amount you recover, or prevent you from recovering at all. We will then have this form filed with the Court.
Should Alderwoods be found to have not paid you overtime and/or failed to pay you overtime for all hours worked and/or did not pay you for all time worked, a Court will decide how much overtime Alderwoods owes you.
Should current employees be afraid of submitting this form?
No. Federal law protects all employees for taking part in any lawsuit attempting to recover their overtime pay. Therefore, by participating in this lawsuit, you will become protected by federal law against any type of retaliation by your employer. However, if you do not participate in this action, or the other protected activities in the statute, you will obviously not be under the protection that federal wage laws provide to you for other actions you may take.
The Court and all the attorneys in this case will ensure that no negative action is taken against you for your participation. If Alderwoods takes any action against you, the penalties are severe. You are entitled to either reinstatement back to your job, or the pay differential at a new job, double damages, and attorneys' fees. If you feel you have suffered from any retaliation, contact us at once.
If you are uncomfortable joining, but would like to talk confidentially (and at no charge) to one of the attorneys handling this case, please contact us.
Should I let others know about this case?
Yes. It’s important that other employees find about this as soon as possible. If they delay in joining, they may lose recovery because of the time periods that apply to this case.
Do I need to pay any money to join?
No. There is absolutely no cost to join. If the Court determines you are entitled to recovery for unpaid overtime, then attorneys' fees and costs will be paid either by Alderwoods or will be awarded by the Court from the fund Alderwoods creates to pay the unpaid overtime. If the case is not successful, you owe no fees. Therefore, there is no financial risk to you.
How did Alderwoods not pay overtime correctly?
Our investigation into the compensation practices at Alderwoods has revealed many issues. Some examples are:
- permitting employees to be on call, but not paying for all work while on call;
- encouraging employees to perform community work but not paying for that work;
- permitting employees to train for job-related-activities (insurance, licensure requirements, etc.) without properly compensating employees for such activities;
- not paying for lunches during which employees performed some work; and
- discouraging employees from putting all their hours down on a timesheet.
Be aware that these are just some, not all, of the violations uncovered during our investigation into the compensation practices of funeral homes.
Be aware you are owed this money even if you agreed to work this extra time, and even if you did not expect to get paid for it.
What if I knew I was not going to be paid for this time?
That does not matter—you still need to be paid for it. The law requires that you be paid for all time you are permitted to work. Therefore, any type of work that Alderwoods simply allowed you to do, you need to be paid for. This is true even if you agreed to work this extra time without pay, or even if you knew you would not get paid for it, or if Alderwoods said you would not be paid for hours worked over 40 in a week.
What if I don't have time records to show how much time I worked?
You don’t need your time records to be able to recover money. The law requires that your employer keep accurate time records for the time you worked. If the employer did not do that, your reasonable testimony of the number of hours you worked will be used to determine the amount you are owed.
How can I know whether this is illegal?
Many employees wonder why Alderwoods would not follow the law if this practice is illegal as is claimed in this case. Others wonder why what Alderwoods did is illegal given that many funeral homes do the same thing.
There is no doubt that the law requires employers to pay their employees for all the time those employees work. Companies do not pay overtime properly to save money. They expect they can get away with it. Faced with the high cost of labor and overtime, companies try to squeeze as much money out of overtime costs as possible.
Some companies who violate the law figure that if they can hide the violation and not make it too obvious to employees, by the time a lawsuit starts, they can save themselves more money than a lawsuit will cost. But, as the Department of Labor regulations make clear, that does not make the practice legal.
Because companies have not been complying with the law, employees have been recovering millions of dollars in unpaid overtime from the largest companies in America.
Do I have any deadlines I need to worry about, or can I wait to see what happens with this case?
Be very careful. Under federal overtime law, employees are generally not entitled to their lost overtime pay for hours they worked more than two (or three) years ago. In other words, once you join the lawsuit and your form is filed with the Court after the lawsuit is started, you can only collect lost wages under Federal Law for two (or three) years prior to that date, nothing more. To stop this clock from running out on your claims and to prevent yourself from losing any more money, you need to join this lawsuit.
How can I tell if I qualify for this lawsuit?
To participate, you need to:
- have worked for Alderwoods in the past three years;
- been permitted to work more than 40 hours in at least one week;
- not have been paid for all the hours you worked in that week at either regular or time and one-half rates;
- click here to learn about some of the general types of violations we have uncovered
- click here to learn about the total amount of money estimated to be at stake
- and click here to learn about the amount of time you are entitled to be paid for;
- and you were paid on an hourly basis, or worked as a funeral director.
Additionally, you can contact us to see if you qualify. There is no charge or obligation if you contact us. We will keep any information you provide strictly confidential.
How much money would I be entitled to?
The attorneys handling this case have estimated the damages in this case to be in the millions of dollars.
It would take a detailed calculation based on the facts of your case to determine how much you would be owed. Remember you will not be represented and you will not be entitled to any money until you join the lawsuit. You must take that step to get any recovery and a Court will have to make a determination as to whether you will be included in the action.
What are the primary goals of this lawsuit?
Our primary goals in this class action are to:
- Get for you the best recovery possible.
- Prohibit Alderwoods from engaging in illegal conduct under the wage laws.
- Have Alderwoods set aside money to properly pay wages and overtime in the future.
- Recover unpaid wages and overtime and other damages for employees who were not properly paid for the time they worked.
What is the status of the case?
Currently, this case is in the pre-trial phase of the case. For additional information on the status, click here.