Navar v. Walsh Construction Company II, LLC

Background

Plaintiffs Allison Navar and Camille Robertson requested a pre-motion discovery conference under Local Rule 37.2 and the Court’s individual rules. They sought an order requiring Skanska USA Civil Northeast, Inc. and Skanska USA Building, Inc. (the “Skanska Defendants”) to provide a complete list of potential members of an Equal Pay Act collective action.

The court had previously certified a collective consisting of female employees of any defendant who were assigned to work at the joint venture for a redevelopment project at LaGuardia Airport and worked in specified coordination groups during the relevant three-year period. The court had also ordered the defendants to provide contact information for potential collective members and directed Plaintiffs to send the collective notice.

Discovery dispute

The Skanska Defendants provided contact information for approximately 44 female employees whom they said met the relevant criteria. Plaintiffs compared that spreadsheet with salary data previously produced by Skanska and identified four women—Jasmine Tucker, Naiesha Williams, Brandi Murphy, and Samiha Shakil—whose names appeared in salary records but not on Skanska’s list of potential collective members. According to the letter, Skanska’s counsel explained that omitted individuals might have been independent contractors or hired through temporary employment agencies.

Plaintiffs asked Skanska to add all women appearing in the salary data to the list, including those classified as independent contractors or temporary-agency workers. Plaintiffs argued that employee status under the Equal Pay Act is a fact-dependent merits issue based on the economic realities of the relationship and should not be decided at the collective-certification stage. Plaintiffs also argued that Skanska should not withhold contact information for people whose salary data it had produced. Plaintiffs did not object to the separate list provided by Walsh Construction Company II, LLC.

Relief requested and court action

Plaintiffs requested an order requiring the Skanska Defendants to provide contact information for all women assigned to the specified coordination groups during the notice period, including people classified as independent contractors, hired through temporary agencies, or listed in the specified salary records. Plaintiffs also requested reasonable expenses, including attorneys’ fees, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(a)(5)(A).

The order shown in the provided text states only: “The Skanska Defendants shall file a letter response by July 8, 2020.” Judge Lorna Schofield therefore directed a response by that date. The provided text does not show a final ruling on production of the contact information, the employee-status issue, or Plaintiffs’ request for expenses and attorneys’ fees.

Classification basis

This is a procedural order concerning a discovery dispute and a required response. It does not decide the underlying Equal Pay Act claims or enter a final ruling on the requested discovery relief.