IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR ... - Cleveland.com
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR ... - Cleveland.com
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR ... - Cleveland.com
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c) Whether the Store Managers perform duties and responsibilities<br />
establishing their exempt status under the FLSA;<br />
d) Whether the actions of Defendants at relevant times were taken in good<br />
faith; and<br />
e) Whether the Court should exercise supplemental jurisdiction of the state<br />
law claims pleaded.<br />
7. Settlement negotiations in these cases spanned four months and consumed many<br />
hours. The negotiations began in late December and continued through January and February,<br />
and several written proposals were exchanged in that period. The U.S. Department of Labor<br />
assisted the parties during these negotiations.<br />
8. The Parties reached an agreement in principle on March 4, 2010. The proposed<br />
Settlement eliminates the time, cost, and uncertainty of further litigation. In addition, given the<br />
financial condition of Inkstop and the current bankruptcy proceedings, the proposed Settlement<br />
is likely to be the only avenue for the former employees of Inkstop to timely recover any amount.<br />
9. The proposed Settlement will cover the Named Plaintiffs and the 237 Existing<br />
Opt-In Plaintiffs, as well as all other eligible employees (“Other Eligible Settlement<br />
Participants”) who elect to participate in the Settlement by signing and returning the Consent and<br />
Release Form. The total settlement amount of $660,000 (“Total Eligible Amount”), after<br />
deductions approved by the Court, will be divided into Individual Payments. Ninety percent of<br />
the Total Eligible Amount will be allocated to the payment of unpaid wages after September 13,<br />
2009. The Individual Payments to the respective participants in this category consist of their<br />
recoverable unpaid wages under the FLSA as calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor less<br />
the allocation to InkStop Store Managers, subject to a cap of $4,920.50. Ten percent of the Total<br />
Eligible Amount will be allocated to persons who worked for InkStop as Store Managers after<br />
January 7, 2008. The Individual Payment in this category will be a per capita payment in the<br />
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