Opinion
CIVIL ACTION No. 10-cv-00320-GLL.
September 15, 2010
ORDER
AND NOW, this 14th day of Septemper, 2010, upon consideration of the forms of notice and consent submitted to the Court by the parties, see Doc. 57, it is hereby ORDERED that the attached Consent Form and Notice Form are APPROVED for distribution. The Consent Form and Notice Form shall be distributed to members of the conditionally certified Fair Labor Standards Act class as defined in the Court's September 2, 2010 Order (Doc. 55).
CONSENT TO BECOME A PARTY PLAINTIFF
I, the undersigned, who was employed as an Assistant Branch Manager by Defendants at a "Citizens Bank" branch at any time between March 10, 2007 to the present, hereby consent to be a party plaintiff in the above-captioned lawsuit, which is an action to recover overtime compensation not paid. By my signature below, I designate the above representative Plaintiffs and their attorneys as my agent to make decisions on my behalf concerning the litigation, the manner and method of conducting this litigation, and decisions regarding settlement, attorney's fees and costs and all other matters pertaining to this lawsuit. By my signature below, I certify that there were weeks in which I worked over forty (40) hours.
Please print or type the following information:
Full Name Signature Date Address City State Zip Telephone Number Email Address RETURN THIS FORM BY MAIL IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE TO: Deadline: ____, 2010
______________________________ ______________________________ (Print clearly) ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ Citizens Bank Class Administrator c/o Class Action Administration, Inc. PO Box 6877 Broomfield CO 80021-0015 Questions? Call 1-877-905-3766IMPORTANT NOTIFICATION TO POTENTIAL CLASS MEMBERS Please read carefully. Your legal rights may be affected.
TO: ASSISTANT BRANCH MANAGERS RE: OVERTIME CLAIM All current and former Citizens Bank who were employed in this position from March 10, 2007 to the present. under the Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit.1. INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this Notice is to: (i) inform you of the existence of a collective class action lawsuit pending against Citizens Financial Group, Inc., RBS Citizens, N.A. and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania (doing business as "Citizens Bank") (hereafter referred to as "Citizens Bank") for overtime compensation alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), (ii) to advise you of how your rights might be affected by this lawsuit, and (iii) to instruct you on the procedure for participating in this lawsuit. You have been sent this notice because employment records indicate that you should be an eligible class member.2. DESCRIPTION OF THE LAWSUIT
Justin Bell and Keith Costanza ("Plaintiffs") brought this lawsuit against Citizens Bank on behalf of themselves and all other current and former Assistant Branch Managers who are/were employed from March 10, 2007 to the present.
Plaintiffs contend that Citizens Bank failed to pay overtime to these individuals. In other words, Citizens Bank misclassified these employees as being salary exempt and that Citizens Bank should have classified them as being nonexempt employees entitled to overtime pay for time worked excess of forty hours per week. The Defendants deny these allegations and claim that they are in compliance with all wage and hour laws.
The Plaintiffs have sued Citizens Bank to recover overtime compensation on behalf of the entire class. Plaintiffs are also seeking liquidated damages in an amount equal to the overtime compensation owed, attorneys' fees and costs. If Plaintiffs are successful in this claim, any attorneys' fees and expenses will be paid by Defendants as approved by the Court. If you elect of join this matter, you will not be responsible for any attorney's fees or expenses incurred by the Plaintiffs.
3. NO RETALIATION IS PERMITTED
If you are a current employee of Citizens Bank, you will not be retaliated against for joining this case. Under the federal law, it is illegal for Citizens Bank to terminate you or retaliate against you in any fashion because you have joined and/or participated in this lawsuit.4. HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS LAWSUIT
Enclosed you will find a form entitled "Consent to Become a Party Plaintiff" ("Consent Form"). You must file a Consent Form to join this lawsuit as a party plaintiff.
If you choose to join this lawsuit, you will be bound by the judgment or any settlement of this action. While the suit is pending, you may be required to assist Plaintiffs' counsel in this matter. If you choose to file a Consent Form, your continued right to participate in this suit may depend on a later determination by the Court that you and the Plaintiffs are actually "similarly situated" in accordance with federal law and that your claim has been filed within the applicable statute of limitations. If you complete the enclosed Consent Form, you will be designating Plaintiffs and their attorneys to act on your behalf and to represent your interests.
5. YOUR TIME TO JOIN IS LIMITED
The enclosed Consent Form must be returned within sixty (60) days from the date of this notice, i.e. postmarked no later than Month Date, 2010.
6. EFFECT OF NOT JOINING THIS LAWSUIT
If you do not file a consent form to join in this case, you will not participate in this lawsuit and will not be bound by any judgment or settlement. If you so chose, you may pursue your claim on your own. The pendency of this current lawsuit, however, will not stop the running of that statute of limitations as to any overtime claims you might have unless you opt-in by returning the Consent Form. In other words, you may lose some or all of your rights if you do not act now.7. NO OPINIONS EXPRESSED AS TO THE MERITS OF THE CASE
This Notice is for the sole purpose of determining the identity of those persons who may be entitled to and wish to participate in this case and any potential judgment or settlement. The Court has expressed no opinion regarding the merits of Plaintiffs' claim or Citizens Bank's liability, if any, and individual claims may be subject to later dismissal if the Court ultimately finds that the claims lack merit or that they cannot be litigated on a class-wide basis.