UPDATE: On December 9, 2008, the Court issued an order granting class certification. The Court has granted nation wide class status on behalf of the correction officers, clerks, case managers, and case counselors regarding their allegations that they are owed overtime pay for work performed off the clock.

MEDIATION UPDATE: This matter was not resolved at the August 20, 2008 mediation session. However, the parties are exchanging additional information and data and will be attempting a resolution again in a few weeks.

Barnwell, et al. v. Corrections Corporation of America
United States District Court for the District of Kansas, case no.: 08-CV-2151
Filed: April 3, 2008

What is the lawsuit about?

Our office along with Brown & Associates, LLC filed a collective action claim against Corrections Corporation of American (CCA) in the U.S. Federal Court in Kansas City, Kansas on April 3, 2008. This lawsuit was filed on behalf of all correction officers and other hourly employees for unpaid time and overtime under the federal wage and hour laws: the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The lawsuit alleges that CCA failed to pay correction officers and hourly employees for the time that they were required to be at work both before and after their shifts (for example: requiring them to be present and clock-in before shift starts, loss of minutes when clocking-out at end of shift, attending meetings off the clock, and preparing reports and other paperwork off the clock). This lawsuit is asking the Court to certify this class of employees who worked at CCA’s 65 facilities in nineteen states. Currently, hundreds of current and former correction officers have joined this case from 31 facilities in 16 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 filed a Motion with the Court to certify this as a class action on September 12, 2008. Persons who “opt-in” now are also joining this matter by asserting their claim to participate in this matter. Opting-in also stops the 2 (and possibly 3) year statute of limitations from running on your FLSA 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?

If you were/are a corrections officer or hourly employee after March 2005, were required to be present at work and not compensated for this time, 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 them to either:

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

-or-

Jason Brown
Brown & Associates, LLC
7505 N.W. Tiffany Springs Pkwy., Ste. 130
Kansas City, MO 64153
816-505-4529
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 in Kansas City, Kansas. That court allows the public to view the documents filed in existing lawsuits. You can access this information by clicking on https://ecf.ksd.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 08-2151 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.