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How do I get involved?
To be eligible for this lawsuit:
- You must have worked as a(n) Outside Plant Engineer for Michigan Bell Telephone Company at any time within the past three years; and
- You must have worked overtime (you do not need any records of your overtime hours worked).
To join the lawsuit, you must complete a Consent Form and return it to us immediately for filing with the Court. If you do not return the Consent Form, we cannot include you in the lawsuit.
Do I have to pay anything?
We are handling this case on a contingency basis. This means our fee we will only be paid if the lawsuit is successful in obtaining relief either through a settlement or a final judgment, and that fee will only come out of that settlement or final judgment
Statute of limitations
There is a federal statute of limitations in this case that only allows you to recover pay for overtime hours worked within 2 years of signing up for the lawsuit. If we can prove the company willfully violated the law, the statute of limitations may be extended to 3 years. Under Michigan state law, the statute of limitations may be 3 years.
Therefore, it is important that you return your Consent Form immediately to avoid losing overtime pay because of the statute of limitations.
How do I prove I worked overtime?
Where the employer does not keep accurate time records, most courts permit the employee to make a good faith estimate of overtime hours. You do not need to have proof of the hours you worked and the court will generally accept a good faith estimate of your hours.
What about retaliation?
If you currently work for Michigan Bell and you feel you are the victim of retaliation for being in this lawsuit, contact us immediately. The law protects you from retaliation for asserting your rights and, if you suffer retaliation, you may be able to assert additional claims against Michigan Bell.
Which locations are included?
Past and present Outside Plant Engineers that worked for Michigan Bell anywhere in Michigan may be included in this lawsuit.
Status of case
Last week the parties agreed to sit down with a mediator to attempt to negotiate a settlement of this case. The mediation will take place in October 2010. In the meantime, the case will be paused or "stayed" pending the outcome of the mediation. If the mediation is unsuccessful, we will continue the litigation from where we left off. If the mediation is successful, any settlement would need Court approval. We will contact you with more details as they become available. In the meantime, it is not too late for your colleagues to join the case. The deadline to join is July 25, 2010. Additional copies of the judicial notice materials that were sent earlier this year can be obtained by contacting our clerk, Ryan Kopischke, at (612) 256-3269 or via email at rkopischke@nka.com. The consent form is available here.
Last week the Court granted our motion for conditional certification and judicial notice. This means that all Outside Plant Engineers that worked for Michigan Bell between April 16, 2007 and May 16, 2009 will receive a letter from our firm explaining the case and giving them the opportunity to join. In order to join, each recipient must return the consent form to our office within 90 days. The letter will be sent by April 30, 2010. This is a significant step forward in the case, but we still have a long road ahead. Over the next few months we may call, write, and email you for information related to your claim. Please make sure to respond as soon as possible. If any of your contact information changes or if you have any questions about the case, please contact our clerk, Ryan Kopischke, at rkopischke@nka.com or toll free at 877-448-0492 ext. 269. We will continue to update you as the case develops.
DETROIT, MI--(Marketwire - April 20, 2010) - On April 16, 2010, Judge Nancy G. Edmunds of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan conditionally certified a class of Outside Plant Engineers that worked for Michigan Bell between April 16, 2007 and May 16, 2009. Please click here for the entire press release.
As of today, 71 current and former Outside Plant Engineers have joined the case. Earlier this week, we filed a motion for conditional certification and judicial notice with the Court. With this motion we asked the Judge to find that all Michigan Outside Plant Engineers are similarly situated, and to order Michigan Bell to produce a list of its Outside Plant Engineers that worked for the company within the past three years so that we can send them a letter notifying them of their right to join the case. We expect the Court to rule on that motion within the next three months. The court in our Wisconsin Bell Outside Plant Engineer recently granted the same motion. Click here for a press release related to the Wisconsin Bell case. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our clerk Ryan Kopischke at rkopischke@nka.com or toll free at 877-448-0492 ext. 269.
More OSP Engineers continue to join the case each week - as of today, 71 have joined the case. On September 15, 2009 the Court held a scheduling conference to set the deadlines for the case. Discovery must be completed by January 15, 2010, and our motion for conditional certification must be filed by February 1, 2010. Please contact Ryan Kopischke at (877) 448-0492 ext. 269 or rkopischke@nka.com with any questions or concerns.
In the more than three months since we filed the case, 62 current and former Outside Plant Engineers from 11 locations in Michigan have joined the case. We have a scheduling conference with the Judge on September 15th, at which point we will have a better idea on the timeline of the case. Please contact us toll free at 877-448-0492 for more information or, if you are interested in joining the case, fill out a consent form and return it to us via email, fax or mail.
In just over a month more than 50 Outside Plant Engineers from across Michigan have joined the case and more join each week. Please contact us toll free at 877-448-0492 for more information or fill out a consent form and return it to us via email, fax or mail. We have also filed a similar case against Illinois Bell Telephone Company on behalf of Outside Plant Engineers. You can find out more about that case here.
On May 29, 2009 we filed an Amended Complaint. In less than two weeks, thirty current and former Outside Plant Engineers have joined the lawsuit, and we expect more to join soon. If you are interested in joining the lawsuit, please contact Ryan Kopischke at rkopischke@nka.com or toll free at (877) 448-0492 ext. 269 for more information. You can also join the case by filling out the Consent Form and returning it to our office. If you work(ed) as an Outside Plant Engineer for another company and are interested in speaking with us about a potential case, please contact Tim Selander at selander@nka.com or toll free at (877) 448-0492 ext. 281.
We filed our Complaint in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan on May 18, 2009. We are currently waiting for Defendant to respond to our complaint, which they must do by June 9, 2009. Feel free to contact us toll free at 877-448-0492 if you would like more information about the case.
Change of address and/or telephone
To update your address and telephone number, please contact us at:
Nichols Kaster, PLLP
Attn: Ryan Kopischke
4600 IDS Center
80 South 8th Street
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402
Toll Free Telephone: 877-448-0492, ext. 269
Telephone: 612-256-3269
Facsimile: 612-215-6870
Email: rkopischke@nka.com
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