UPDATE: On February 12, 2009, the Court issued an order certifying this as a nation wide class action. Notices of this lawsuit were mailed on May 15, 2009 to all eligible class members. Individuals who already filed consents to join will not be receiving this notice since they have already joined the case.

Mayes, et al. v. The Geo Group, Inc.
United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, case no.: 08-CV-0248
Filed: August 6, 2008

What is the lawsuit about?

Our office along with Brown & Associates, LLC filed a collective action claim against The Geo Group, Inc. (GEO) in the U.S. Federal Court for the Northern District of Florida on August 6, 2008. This lawsuit was filed on behalf of all correction officers for unpaid time and overtime under the federal wage and hour laws: the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The lawsuit alleges that GEO failed to pay correction officers for the time that they were required to be at work both before and after their shifts. For example: requiring officers to be present and clock-in early before the shift starts (for ?roll call? etc.) and to clock-out minutes after the shift ends, but refusing to pay for this time. It is also alleging that GEO failed to pay the correct overtime rate of pay when officers worked more than 40 hours in a week. Finally, we are investigating whether officers had time deducted from their pay for breaks that they were not able to take. This lawsuit is asking the Court to certify this class of employees who worked at GEO?s 49 facilities in 17 states.

At this time, this lawsuit is not a certified collective class action. It will only become a certified collective class action after the Court issues an order granting this status. We will be seeking such an order from the Court as this matter proceeds. As a collective class action, the two named plaintiffs (Joseph Mayes and Brenda Gibson) will be acting as the representatives on behalf of the class of employees. Persons who decide to “opt-in” now will also be joining this matter by asserting their claim. Opting-in will also stop the two (and possibly three) year statute of limitations from running on your claim.

Can I get a copy of the lawsuit?

For a copy of the lawsuit that has been filed: click here.

How can I join?

f you were/are a corrections officer after July 2005, were required to be present at work and not compensated for this time (such as clocking-in early, or clocking-out late without pay), and would like to participate in this matter, you need to download and complete the following two forms (1) a questionnaire form, and (2) a consent to join form. After completing these forms, you will need to mail or fax them to either:

Brendan J. Donelon
DONELON, P.C.
802 Broadway, 7th Floor
Kansas City, Missouri 64105
816-221-7100
Fax: 816-472-6805
brendan@donelonpc.com

-or-

Jason Brown
Brown & Associates, LLC
7505 N.W. Tiffany Springs Pkwy., Ste. 130
Kansas City, MO 64153
816-505-4529
Fax: 816-379-4040
kclawyerbrown@yahoo.com

After we receive these forms, we will contact you for further information. For any other information on this matter, or if you have any questions about the above forms, please feel free to contact our office or co-counsel Jason Brown.

How Can I follow What is Happening in the Lawsuit?

This lawsuit was filed in U.S. Federal Court for the Northern District of Florida. That court allows the public to view the documents filed in existing lawsuits. You can access this information by clicking on https://ecf.flnd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

Once you are on that web page, you will need to set up a PACER account in order to receive a “login” and “password.” There is a link on this page for http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/. Once you have a login and password, you can go back and enter that information on the court’s website in order to log-in. After you log in, click “query” at the top of the next screen. This will bring up a “search clues” box. Within that box, you will need to enter 08-0248 in the case number area, then hit the “Run Query” button. On the next screen, click on the “docket report” link. That will bring up the docket report for the case. You will be able to see all the documents that have been filed in the case, including all the consent to join forms. Note: if you click on a document and want to review it, there is a charge to your PACER account for the copies.