What Is This Case About?

This lawsuit is called Nathan Flowers et al. v. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Los Angeles County Superior Court Case No. BC515136 (“Lawsuit”). The individuals who brought this lawsuit on behalf of themselves and members of the Settlement Class are called “Plaintiffs.” Plaintiffs Nathan Flowers and Donday Orr alleged, on behalf of themselves and other similarly situated individuals, that Defendant fails to properly compensate Operators for time spent performing various tasks, including time spent completing mandatory reports, the differential between scheduled run times and actual run times, and time spent performing various pre-departure tasks, including tasks associated with making relief using a CEA vehicle. Plaintiff alleges that since the beginning of the proposed class period (i.e., since July 15, 2010), Defendant’s compensation scheme has been illegal because it fails to compensate Operators for all straight time hours worked, in violation of Labor Code § 1194 and/or California Industrial Wage Commission Order 9-2001 (“Wage Order No. 9”). Plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief on a classwide basis.

Your Legal Rights and Options in this Settlement

Do Nothing	If you do nothing, you will be part of this Settlement and release all claims against LACMTA and any affiliated individuals and entities as described in more detail below. The benefits of the Settlement (specifically, changes in LACMTA’s policies and practices) are described below. If you are part of the Settlement, you will not have the option of bringing your own legal action against LACMTA or any affiliated individuals and entities based on the same challenged practice, or any other claim that you might have.
Object	You may write to the Court to say why you do not agree with the proposed Settlement. If you object, you will remain part of the Settlement Class, and if the Court overrules your objection and approves the Settlement, you will not have the option of bringing your own legal action against LACMTA or any affiliated individuals and entities based on the same challenged practice, or any other claim that you might have. The deadline for you to object is July 10, 2020. For the objection to be valid, it must include the objector’s full name, signature, address, and telephone number, the basis for the objection, and if the objector intends to appear at the Final Approval hearing, a statement to that effect.
Exclude Yourself From the Settlement Class	Excluding yourself from the Settlement Class will give you the option of initiating or proceeding with your own legal action against LACMTA and/or any affiliated individuals and entities based on the same challenged practice, or any other claim that you might have. If you believe that you have a claim or potential claim for monetary damages against LACMTA and/or any affiliated individuals and entities, then you should exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, and you should not delay in initiating legal proceedings, because the statute of limitations (the deadline imposed by law within which you may initiate legal proceedings) may severely limit the time remaining for you to do so. If you exercise this option, you would be well advised to seek a lawyer’s professional opinion as to whether you should pursue your claims through the collective bargaining process, in small claims court, in an administrative (Berman) hearing before the California Labor Commissioner, in California Superior Court, in federal court, or in another forum. If you exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, then you may not object to the Settlement. The deadline for you to exclude yourself is July 10, 2020. For the request for exclusion to be valid, it must: (a) set forth the name, address, telephone number and last four digits of the Social Security number of the Settlement Class member requesting exclusion; (b) be signed by the Settlement Class member; (c) be returned by mail to LACMTA Settlement Administrator, c/o CPT Group, Inc., 50 Corporate Park, Irvine, CA 92606, or by facsimile to 949-419-3446; (d) clearly state that the Settlement Class member does not wish to be included in the Settlement; and (e) be faxed or postmarked on or before the Response Deadline.
Attend The Hearing	A hearing will be held on September 11, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. in Department 10 of the California Superior Court, County of Los Angeles, 312 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, California 90012.

The files below are PDF downloads that are relevant to this specific case. Please review them and if you have any questions, or would like additional information, visit the FAQs page.

The important dates below reflect deadlines in connection with this class action. Be sure to review these dates and please take any appropriate steps necessary before they pass.