Rojas v. Kaleo Construction Corp.

Background

Jorge Rojas filed a putative class action on behalf of himself and similarly situated construction workers. He sought, among other things, unpaid overtime wages and wage-notice damages under the Fair Labor Standards Act, a federal wage law, and the New York Labor Law.

The parties first asked the court to approve a settlement in February 2023. The court requested additional information and instructed the parties that any release or waiver of claims should generally be limited to wage-and-hour matters unless the parties provided case-specific reasons for a broader provision. The court determined that a later draft still contained broader language concerning labor-law claims and directed the parties either to narrow the provisions or justify them. The parties then submitted a third draft settlement agreement.

Settlement Terms and Analysis

The court reviewed the final agreement, the parties’ supporting letters, and time records. It found the agreement fair and reasonable under the factors commonly used to evaluate Fair Labor Standards Act settlements, including the plaintiff’s possible recovery, litigation risks and expenses, the bargaining process, and the possibility of fraud or collusion.

The agreement provides Rojas with $13,000, paid in two installments of $6,500. The parties calculated his best possible recovery at $12,760. Rojas’s counsel requested $4,199.34, approximately one-third of the total recovery, and the court found that fee reasonable. The court also emphasized that the final agreement no longer required Rojas to release claims unrelated to wage-and-hour issues. Nothing suggested that the agreement resulted from improper bargaining, fraud, or collusion.

Ruling

The court granted the parties’ request to approve the third proposed settlement agreement. It directed that Rojas’s counsel receive $4,199.34 and that Rojas receive the remaining $8,560.66. Pursuant to the parties’ stipulation, the court dismissed the case with prejudice, directed the clerk to terminate all pending motions, and closed the case.