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HomeMy WebLinkAbout178-05 RESOLUTION• • IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS PETER T. REAGAN, ET AL PLAINTIFFS vs. Civil Action No. 05-5045 CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE DEFENDANT SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT WHEREAS, the plaintiffs brought this action against the defendant City of Fayetteville, Arkansas ["City"] claiming violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. §201 etseg. (FLSA); and WHEREAS, the plaintiffs and the defendant City have considered that their interests are best served by the settlement of this action, and have concluded that the terms of this Settlement Agreement are fair, reasonable and adequate; COME NOW, all Plaintiffs within the above captioned case by their attorneys Thomas Woodley and Mark L. Martin and Defendant City of Fayetteville by City Attorney Kit Williams and hereby agree to settle the above captioned case as follows: 1. All Plaintiff Fire Fighters agree, based upon the promises and considerations presented by the City of Fayetteville below, to Dismiss this Case With Prejudice. 2. Defendant City of Fayetteville agrees to the following promises and actions: A. The City of Fayetteville will issue equal checks in the aggregate amount of $30,000.00 to all named Plaintiffs Tess the state statute required 6% LOPFI deduction and the federally mandated 1.45% Medicare deduction. The City will pay the • • City's portion of the Medicare taxes and LOPF'I contribution of 13.81% for each check out of its funds (not out of the aggregate $30,000.00). These checks will be forwarded in bulk to plaintiffs' counsel Woodley & McGillivary, at their law offices at 1125 15th Street, N.W., Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20005 for dispersal to the individual plaintiffs. B. The City of Fayetteville shall pay attorneys' fces and costs to plaintiffs' attorneys in the amount of $20,000.00. The amount of $15,000.00 shall be forwarded to the plaintiffs' counsel, Woodley & McGillivary, at their law offices at 1125 15th Street, N.W., Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20005. This amount shall be made payable by check to "WOODLEY & McGILLIVARY". The $5,000.00 attorney's fees to be apportioned to Mark L. Martin, shall at Mr. Martin's request, be paid by the City directly to the Fayetteville Fire Fighters Association IAFF Local 2866 Scholarship Fund. 3. The Plaintiffs and the City of Fayetteville agree that the $20.00 per paycheck EMT pay should and will be included when overtime is calculated. Since almost all Fire Fighters have achieved EMT status, the pay matrix may be adjusted so that EMT pay becomes a regular component of all Fire Fighters pay within the new pay matrix rather than being separately listed. 4. The Plaintiffs and the City of Fayetteville agree that the additional pay for the Hazmat team currently paid to such specially trained Fire Fighters should be and will be included in overtime calculations. 5. The Plaintiffs and the City of Fayetteville agree that the additional pay for longevity pay will be included in overtime calculations. 6. All Plaintiffs and the City of Fayetteville agree and covenant that this Settlement Agreement is a full and final settlement and resolution of any and all FLSA • • pay, pay or leave policy, or hours of work related issues that do or might exist between the parties as of the date of this Agreement. 7. The City has not retaliated against the Plaintiffs for having pursued their Fair Labor Standards Act Case and commits that it will not retaliate or otherwise subject any of the Plaintiffs to discriminatory treatment in relation to all other City employees. The City specifically consents that the Court's supervisory powers to enforce the terms of this Settlement Agreement will include consideration of any retaliatory allegation made by any Plaintiff that the City has violated any provision of this paragraph. 8. The Plaintiffs and the City of Fayetteville agree and covenant to use the better avenues of communications recently established by the City of Fayetteville to attempt to resolve any possible future pay or employment related issues. 9. This Settlement Agreement will be jointly submitted by the parties to the Court for approval and for the issuance of the accompanying Final Order and Judgment dismissing this action with prejudice; provided however that this Court will retain jurisdiction for the purpose of enforcing compliance with the terms of this Settlement Agreement under federal law. It is the intent of this Settlement Agreement to fully resolve any and all FLSA pay, pay policy or hours of work related issues between all named Plaintiffs and the City of Fayetteville. Both parties intend to Mose the door" on any past differences, issues or possible claims against any party, and move forward in a united front in the best interests of the citizens of Fayetteville, Arkansas. I !‘N D C' fr. `%/b/ O Date • Date Respectfully submitted. Thomas A. Wooiiley David Rickscoicr WOODLEY & McGILLIVARY 1125 15111 Street, N.W. Suitc 400 Washington, D.C. 20005 (202) 833-8855 Phone (202) 452-1090 Fax INNacLUrac-V V Mark L. Martin MARTIN & KJJiKLAK 2059 Green Acres Rd. Fayetteville, AR 72703 (479) 442-2244 (479)4420134 Mark@mklaw fuin.cnrn Counsel Fur Plaintiff. hirWilliarns Fayetteville City Attorney 113 W. Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8313 Pltonc (479) 575-8315 Fax • CIORNEY AGENDA REQUT FOR: CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 6, 2005 FROM: KIT WILLIAMS, CITY ATTORNEY ORDINANCE OR RESOLUTION TITLE AND SUBJECT: A Resolution To Approve The Settlement Agreement With The Plaintiffs In The Peter T. Reagan, et al v. City of Fayetteville, Federal District Court Civil Case No. 05-5045 APPROVED FOR AGENDA: KIT WILLIAM City Attorney DAN COODY Mayor 9- 6 - oS Date Date FAYETTEVIPLE THE CIT/ OF lAYIIIIVIIII. ARKANSAS Krr WILLIAMS, CITY ATTORNEY DAVID WHITAKER, ASST CITY ATrORNEY DEPARTMENTAL CORRESPONDENCE LEGAL DEPARTMENT TO: Dan Coody, Mayor City Council FROM: Kit Williams, City Attorney , DATE: September 6, 2005 RE: Settlement Agreement to end Firefighters case 1 As you know, I had hoped that we could present a signed, proposed Settlement Agreement for your consideration at the Special City Council meeting prior to your Agenda Meeting last Tuesday. Unfortunately, there were a few terms which still needed some final polishing so we could not go forward then. The proposed settlement amount of $50,000.00 remains unchanged. I am happy to report to you that all terms and conditions of the Settlement Agreement have now been agreed to by the Plaintiffs. I also agree to this proposed Settlement Agreement and recommend its approval. As you know I have participated in two mediations supervised by Federal Magistrate Beverly Stites Jones in Fort Smith. The City would like to thank Judge Jones for her invaluable assistance in this mediation effort. The City is also appreciative that Federal District Judge Jimm Larry Hendren granted the parties several stays of legal proceedings to provide both sides sufficient time to explore all the possibilities of settlement without Incurring substantial legal expenses for discovery and pretrial motions. Attorney Mark Martin who is representing the plaintiff Firefighters and I have taken advantage of the Federal Court's continuing stay to meet several times to explore possible solutions to the issues raised in this litigation. Mr. Martin has worked tirelessly and diligently in an effort to find • • a fair and equitable middle ground within the complex and complicated issues of firefighter pay as mandated by the Fair Labor Standards Act. Just like the almost complete settlement agreement handed out to you last Tuesday, this Settlement Agreement resolves all wage and employment related issues between the City and all 84 plaintiffs and all attorney's fees. Our review and analysis of two years of payroll records indicated that the City had probably made some inadvertent technical mistakes in computing overtime. The City had paid the firefighters about what the Fair Labor Standards Act would have mandated, but we paid EMT pay, Hazmat pay and Longevity pay as a specific amount every pay period rather than including it as a pay component for overtime pay computation Even an inadvertent, technical mistake in computing proper overtime pay usually justifies an award of attorney's fees against an employer. But rather than seeking to earn as large an attorney's fee as possible by going through a trial and appeal, Attorney Mark Martin considered the long range benefit to his clients and worked out this settlement with me. Without this settlement, the City would have likely had to pay significantly more just for attorney's fees than the entire amount of this settlement proposal. Therefore, I wholeheartedly recommend that the City Council approve this Settlement Agreement. Please suspend the rules and place this Resolution to Approve The Settlement Agreement on tonight's agenda. Settlement of cases involving numerous plaintiffs is always difficult because every plaintiff must agree. In this case, there are 84 plaintiffs who have all agreed to settle their claims. Once the City Council accepts this proposed Settlement Agreement, the agreement is finalized and the case will be dismissed with prejudice when approved by the Federal Court. Postponing a decision would endanger this settlement and could be very costly to the City Therefore, I urge that the City Council vote to approve this Settlement Agreement at tonight's meeting. • • • RESOLUTION NO. A RESOLUTION TO APPROVE THE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT WI al THE PLAINTIFFS IN THE PETER T. REAGAN, El AL V. CITY OF FAYI TTEVILLE FEDERAI, DISTRICT COURT CIVIL, CASE NO. 05-5045 WHEREAS, after two mediation sessions supervised by Federal Magistrate Judge Beverly Stites Jones and numerous settlement conferences between Fayetteville Firefighter attorney Mark Martin and Fayetteville City Attorney Kit Williams, a possible settlement agreement has been agreed to by the plaintiff firefighters and is recommended for approval of the City Council by City Attorney Kit Williams and Mayor Dan Coody. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS: Section 1: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby approves the Stttlemcnt Agreement with the Plaintiffs in the Peter 1'. Reagan et al v. City of Fayetteville, Federal District Court Civil Case No. 05-5045 as attached hereto as Exhibit A and authorizes City Attorney Kit Williams and Mayor Coody to execute this agreement. PASSED and APPROVED this 611' day of September, 2005. ATTEST. By: SONDRA SMITH, City Clerk APPROVED: By: DAN COODY, Mayor • • IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS PETER T. REAGAN, ET AL vs. CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE Civil Action No. 05-5045 SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT PLAINTIFFS DEFENDANT WHEREAS, the plaintiffs brought this action against the defendant City of Fayetteville, Arkansas ("City"] claiming violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. §201 etseg. (FLSA); and WHEREAS, the plaintiffs and the defendant City have considered that their interests are best served by the settlement of this action, and have concluded that the terms of this Settlement Agreement are fair, reasonable and adequate; COME NOW, all Plaintiffs within the above captioned case by their attorneys Thomas Woodley and Mark L. Martin and Defendant City of Fayetteville by City Attomey Kit Williams and hereby agree to settle the above captioned case as follows: 1. All Plaintiff Fire Fighters agree, based upon the promises and considerations presented by the City of Fayetteville below, to Dismiss this Case With Prejudice. 2. Defendant City of Fayetteville agrees to the following promises and actions: A. The City of Fayetteville will issue equal checks in the aggregate amount of 530,000.00 to all named Plaintiffs less the state statute required 6% LOPFI deduction and the federally mandated 1.45% Medicare deduction. The City will pay the • • City's portion of the Medicare taxes and LOPFI contribution of 13.81% for each check out of its funds (not out of the aggregate $30,000.00). These checks will be forwarded in bulk to plaintiffs' counsel Woodley & McGillivary, at their law offices at 1125 15th Street, N.W., Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20005 for dispersal to the individual plaintiffs. B. The City of Fayetteville shall pay attorneys' fees and costs to plaintiffs' attomeys in the amount of $20,000.00. The amount of $15,000.00 shall be forwarded to the plaintiffs' counsel, Woodley & McGillivary, at their law offices at 1125 15th Street, N.W., Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20005. This amount shall be made payable by check to "WOODLEY & McGILLIVARY". The $5,000.00 attorney's fees to be apportioned to Mark L. Martin, shall at Mr. Martin's request, be paid by the City directly to the Fayetteville Fire Fighters Association IAFF Local 2866 Scholarship Fund. 3. The Plaintiffs and the City of Fayetteville agree that the $20.00 per paycheck EMT pay should and will be included when overtime is calculated. Since almost all Fire Fighters have achieved EMT status, the pay matrix may be adjusted so that EMT pay becomes a regular component of all Fire Fighters pay within the new pay matrix rather than being separately listed. 4. The Plaintiffs and the City of Fayetteville agree that the additional pay for the Hazmat team currently paid to such specially trained Fire Fighters should be and will be included in overtime calculations. 5. The Plaintiffs and the City of Fayetteville agree that the additional pay for longevity pay will be included in overtime calculations. 6. All Plaintiffs and the City of Fayetteville agree and covenant that this Settlement Agreement is a full and final settlement and resolution of any and all FLSA • • pay, pay or leave policy, or hours of work related issues that do or might exist between the parties as of the date of this Agreement. 7. The City has not retaliated against the Plaintiffs for having pursued their Fair Labor Standards Act Case and commits that it will not retaliate or otherwise subject any of the Plaintiffs to discriminatory treatment in relation to all other City employees. The City specifically consents that the Court's supervisory powers to enforce the terms of this Settlement Agreement will include consideration of any retaliatory allegation made by any Plaintiff that the City has violated any provision of this paragraph. 8. The Plaintiffs and the City of Fayetteville agree and covenant to use the better avenues of communications recently established by the City of Fayetteville to attempt to resolve any possible future pay or employment related issues. 9. This Settlement Agreement will be jointly submitted by the parties to the Court for approval and for the issuance of the accompanying Final Order and Judgment dismissing this action with prejudice; provided however that this Court will retain Jurisdiction for the purpose of enforcing compliance with the terms of this Settlement Agreement undcr federal law. It is the intent of this Settlement Agreement to fully resolve any and all FLSA pay, pay policy or hours of work related issues between all named Plaintiffs and the City of Fayetteville. Both parties intend to "close the door" on any past differences, issues or possible claims against any party, and move forward in a united front in the best interests of the citizens of Fayetteville, Arkansas. (4 Date 1 • • //yO Date • Date Rcspcctfully submitted. Thomas A. Woo8ley ' David Ricksceicr WOODLEY & McGILLIVARY 1125 15th Street, N.W. Suite 400 Washington, D.C. 20005 (202) 833-8855 Phone (202)452-1090 Fax Mark L. Martin MARTIN & KI.LKLAK 2059 Green Acres Rd Fayetteville, AR 72703 (479) 442-2244 (479) 4420134 Mark@mklawfinn.com Counsel Fur Plaintiffs Kit Williams Fayetteville City Attorney 113 W. Mountain Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-8313 Phone (479) 575-8315 Fax Clarice Pearman - Res. 178-05 Page 1 From: To: Date: Subject: Clarice Pearman Williams, Kit 9/14/05 12:07PM Res. 178-05 Kit, Attached is a copy of the resolution passed by the City Council September 6, 2005 regarding the settlement In Re: Reagan et al v. City. Thanks. Clarice CC: Deaton, Vicki • RESOLUTION NO.178-05 A RESOLUTION TO APPROVE TI -IE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT WITH THE PLAINTIFFS IN THE PETER T. REAGAN, ET AL V. CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT CIVIL CASE NO. 05-5045 WHEREAS, after two mediation sessions supervised by Federal Magistrate Judge Beverly Stites Jones and numerous settlement conferences between Fayetteville Firefighter attorney Mark Martin and Fayetteville City Attorney Kit Williams, a possible settlement agreement has been agreed to by the plaintiff firefighters and is recommended for approval of the City Council by City Attorney Kit Williams and Mayor Dan Coody. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS: Section 1: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby approves the Settlement Agreement with the Plaintiffs in the Peter T. Reagan et al v. City of Fayetteville, Federal District Court Civil Case No. 05-5045 as attached hereto as Exhibit A and authorizes City Attorney Kit Williams and Mayor Coody to execute this agreement. PASSED and APPROVED this 6th day of September, 2005. ATTEST - By: . •�' By :FAYETTEVILLE: 9PI:Pif NSPf=\t/ °'?.'GT0N C�`���` ',nuuuup`` SONDRA SMITH, City Clerk APPROVED: DAN COODY, Mayor