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Download NowWhat happened. Robert Niland had been a truck driver for Delta Recycling
before it was acquired by Allied Waste. After the merger and Allied's expression
of concern about overtime, Delta reached an agreement with DOL that the company
would conduct its own audit, DOL would supervise the payment of back wages,
and Delta would use DOL's waiver language on the checks and documents it
issued. That language specified that any employee who cashed the check for back
pay would be seen as accepting the amount offered and would waive his or her
right to sue for more money.
Niland contacted two of Delta's outside attorneys to complain that his
check was too small, but they assured him that the amount was correct. Reluctantly,
he eventually cashed the checkbut then he sued Delta for more money. A
federal district court reviewed DOL's involvement in the program and determined
that it had been sufficient to ensure the integrity of the process. Moreover,
Niland's cashing of the check waived his right to sue, so his charges were
dismissed. He appealed to the 11th Circuit, which covers Alabama, Florida, and
Georgia.
What the court said. The original report of DOL involvement obtained
by the district court showed the agency had spent only an hour on the projectnot
enough to satisfy the judge. Before the case could go to trial, though, DOL
presented an affidavit showing hundreds of hours spent by a DOL regional director.
Along with this statement, Delta submitted its outside accounting firm's
description of many missing or illegible time sheets for Delta employees, along
with discrepancies among various payroll records. (That makes it ironic, we
think, that the regional director did not record the amount of work he performed
on the project at the time.)
Appellate judges were satisfied that the process had DOL approval and that
Niland had accepted his overtime check, so they affirmed the dismissal of his
case. Niland v. Delta Recycling Corp., U.S. Court of Appeals for the
11th Circuit, No. 03-14553 (7/21/04).
Point to remember: If you believe your organization has made compensation
mistakes in the past that violated FLSA, contact DOL as soon as possible. An
agreement with the Department can help you avoid penalties, legal costs, and
many headaches.