Donning and Doffing Lawsuit Nets $9.75 Million Settlement

Las Vegas, NVAn unpaid overtime lawsuit filed against the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas has resulted in a settlement worth $9.75 million. The lawsuit, filed by Darlene Lewis, alleged workers at the Cosmopolitan were not properly paid for all work mandated by the resort casino, including work that amounted to overtime hours.

Darlene Lewis filed the lawsuit back in 2012 against Cosmopolitan Hotels & Resorts, where she was employed as a customer service representative and paid as an hourly employee. According to court documents, Lewis was required to wear a uniform and carry a $3,000 money bank during work as part of her job. Uniforms were to be changed into and out of at a common locker room on-site - not at home. Employees were also required to receive their uniforms before their shift and turn them in after their shift.

Furthermore, certain employees had to receive their money bank from a satellite bank before swiping in - a process that involved retrieving money, verifying the money and filling out paperwork - and then obtaining keys, a radio and a schedule before their shift. Likewise at the end of the shift, they had to turn back their cash and items needed during their shift after clocking out.

Despite requiring a variety of tasks prior to starting a shift, Cosmopolitan reportedly did not pay employees for any time preparing for their shifts, only paying them once they arrived at pre-assigned workstations.

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“In other words, Defendants required Plaintiff and all other similarly situated uniformed employee[s] to work off the clock each day from the time they were required to report to accept their uniforms until they finally arrived at a designated workstation, and from the time they clocked out of a designated work station until they were finally able to change out of their uniforms and return the uniforms to Defendants at the end of their shift,” court documents state.

According to the lawsuit, Lewis spent approximately 30 minutes or more before and after each shift involved in mandatory but unpaid activities. For employees who worked more than eight hours in a day or 40 hours in a workweek, that time amounts to overtime.

In August 2015, a judge gave preliminary approval to a settlement, which will see Cosmopolitan pay $9.75 million to settle the allegations, Courthouse News Service (9/18/15) reports.

The lawsuit is Lewis v. Cosmopolitan Hotels & Resorts, Inc., Case Number 2:12-cv-01564, in US District Court for the District of Nevada.