AFGE Local 4060 vs. FEMA

In March of 2018, AFGE Local 4060, representing FEMA employees nationwide, filed a grievance against the Agency on behalf of all bargaining unit employees. The Grievance alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Title V (FEPA), among other violations.

The Union has retained Pines Federal and Snider and Associates, LLC, as the Union’s counsel for this matter. Over the last two years, attorneys and paralegals from the two law firms have been reaching out to bargaining unit employees to discuss each individual’s experience as it pertains to unpaid overtime. Those discussions confirmed our initial belief that the Agency was not always paying overtime properly and was not always providing a choice of overtime or compensatory time. We have had good success reaching employees, however, the more employees that participate, the better the outcome.

The Union and Agency agreed to pause going to arbitration (trial) and rather, will attempt to settle the case without the need for years and years of possible litigation. Those settlement discussions are currently underway and we are hopeful that we will be able to resolve the case without the need to go to trial. However, the attorneys we have hired are not scared of litigating this case, and if the settlement efforts are not successful, that is exactly what we will do. Our lawyers believe that the damages in this case could be worth millions of dollars and settling a case of this size does take time.

If you are or were in the AFGE Local 4060 bargaining unit and you believe that you have information to share about overtime for which you did not receive proper compensation, please contact us.

All bargaining unit employees, whether or not they are members of the union, and regardless of position or pay grade, are covered by this grievance and could potentially benefit from a successful result.