Josten’s (Hourly-Paid Factory Workers)

The Defendant

Defendant Josten’s, Inc. is a manufacturer of memorabilia, primarily known for its production of yearbooks and class rings for various high schools and colleges as well as championship rings for sports.

The Employees

Position(s): hourly-paid factory workers

Location(s): anywhere in the United States

Time Period: January 2018 through the present.

The Claims in the Lawsuit

The Complaint alleges that Josten’s violated the FLSA by excluding time hourly-paid factory workers spend working before their shifts from the work hours used to compute their pay and that as a result they were consistently not paid for time before their scheduled shifts, during which they performed preparatory work activities that were integral and indispensable to their job duties.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Defendant discipline or fire me if I join the case?

No! The Fair Labor Standards Act prohibits retaliation and imposes harsh measures against employers who retaliate. For further information, please consult the Department of Labor’s Fact Sheet.

Will I have to testify or provide documentary proof?

 Not necessarily. Many employees obtain monetary recoveries in Fair Labor Standards Act cases without ever having to appear at court or for depositions.

You are not required to provide documentary proof of your unpaid wages. In most cases, the employer is required to provide the employee’s payroll records to the employee and his or her attorney. In fact, the Fair Labor Standards Act mandates that employers keep accurate time and payroll records. The employer cannot escape this duty by requiring you as the employee to provide proof.

However, it is still important that you preserve any physical or electronic evidence relating to the case that you currently possession.

Will Brown, LLC be my attorneys?

Employees who sign Retainer Agreements and/or Consent to Join forms will be represented by Brown, LLC with respect to the lawsuit and claims described above.

You will not be required to pay any attorneys’ fees or court costs to the Plaintiffs’ lawyers at this time and not pay any attorneys’ fees unless you prevail. Rather, in the event the Plaintiffs prevail in the lawsuit, by either judgment or settlement, the Plaintiffs’ attorneys will request that the Court order Defendant(s) to pay the Plaintiffs’ lawyers their reasonable attorneys’ fees and reimburse them for any expenses.

How long will the case take?

It is very difficult to predict exactly how long a case will take. It depends on a variety of factors including the number of parties and claims involved, the rules and pace of the court, the complexity of the proofs, and the manner in which the employer defends the case.

When and if a settlement is reached, additional time is needed to prepare settlement documents, calculate settlement allocations, and seek and await the court’s review and approval of the settlement. wage-and-hour cases typically take 2-3 years, but this can be shorter or increase considerably.