Bruckert v. City of Concord

Filing 46

BRIEFING ORDER. Signed by Magistrate Judge Bernard Zimmerman on 9/18/2008. (bzsec, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 9/18/2008)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 v. CITY OF CONCORD, Defendant(s). RON BRUCKERT, Plaintiff(s), ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

No. C06-6920 BZ BRIEFING ORDER

Before the court is a stipulation for entry of a judgment approving the settlement of a complaint alleging a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. The settlement is between the City of Concord and a

substantial number of police personnel who have consented to join in the settlement. As numerous cases have explained,

because employees cannot waive their FLSA claims, such claims, and accompanying claims for attorney's fees, can be settled only with the approval of the Secretary of Labor or a District Court. See e.g. Lee v. The Timberland Co., 2008 WL 2492295 at The approval process requires a court to

*2, (N.D. Cal.).

scrutinize the settlement for fairness and determine "whether 1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

the settlement is a fair and reasonable resolution of a bona fide dispute." Yue Zhou v. Wang's Restaurant, 2007 WL 172308 The primary focus of the court's inquiry

at *1, (N.D.Cal.).

is to insure that the employer has not taken advantage of its employees in reaching a settlement. See Collins v. Sanderson

Farms, Inc., 2008 WL 2811225 at *3 (E.D. La.) and cases discussed therein. Here, the parties have provided the court with little information other than the fact that they have reached a settlement to which a substantial number of employees have consented. The fact that the settlement was reached as part

of an adversarial process is, by itself, not enough to establish that the settlement was reasonable. Id. at *4.

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that by Monday, October 6, 2008, the parties shall provide the court with additional information which will enable it to meaningfully review the settlement and make a determination as to its reasonableness. Dated: September 18, 2008 Bernard Zimmerman United States Magistrate Judge
G:\BZALL\-BZCASES\BRUCKERT\BRIEFING ORDER.wpd

2