Nordgren, Evan v. Epic Systems Corporation

Filing 46

ORDER granting 45 Unopposed Motion for Conditional Certification of Class. Signed by District Judge Barbara B. Crabb on 5/5/14. (rep)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN

EVAN NORDGREN,
individually and on behalf of
all others similarly situated,
ORDER
Plaintiff,
13-cv-840-bbc
v.

EPIC SYSTEMS CORPORATION,
Defendant.

Plaintiff has filed an unopposed motion for conditional collective action certification
and court-authorized notice. The motion is GRANTED.
IT IS ORDERED that:
1.

This case is conditionally certified as a collective action under 29 U.S.C. §

216(b) ;
2.

The Judicial Notice attached to this order is APPROVED and plaintiff's

counsel is to disseminate the notice to the putative opt-in plaintiffs;
3.

Within fourteen days of this order, defendant is to provide a list to plaintiff's

counsel, in electronic, delimited, and importable format (i.e., Microsoft Excel (.xls)) , of all
persons who have been or are employed by Epic Systems Corporation as a Quality Assurance
employee, at any time from three years prior to the production of said list to the present.
1

The list shall include the first name, last name, last four digits of the social security number,
employee identification number (if any), dates of employment as a Quality Assurance
employee and last known address;
4.

Plaintiffs counsel is to administer the notice process, using the attached Judicial
Notice; and

5.

The notice period shall extend 60 days from the date that plaintiff's counsel
distributes the notice.
Entered this

~K/

day of May, 2014.

BY THE COURT:

~~ ~ n:~
BARBARA B. CRABB

District Judge

2

Case: 3:13-cv-00840-bbc Document #: 45-1 Filed: 05/01/14 Page 2 of 4

TO: ALL QUALITY ASSURANCE EMPLOYEES WHO WORKED AT
EPIC SYSTEMS CORPORATION AT ANY TIME SINCE MAY_, 2011
You are receiving this Notice because you are a current or former Quality Assurance ("QA") employee who
worked for Epic Systems Corporation ("Epic") at any time since May~ 2011.

PURPOSE OF NOTICE
This Notice is to inform you about a lawsuit in which you are potentially eligible to participate; how your rights under
the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") may be affected by this lawsuit; and bow to join in this lawsuit, should you
choose to do so. Please note that this Notice is only for the purpose of determining the identity of those persons who
may wish to be involved in this action. The lawsuit is currently in the early pretrial stage. The Court overseeing this
lawsuit has not made any determination whether anyone is entitled to any compensation. As such, this Notice does not
mean that you have a valid claim or that you are entitled to any monetary recovery, or that Epic has done anything
wrong. Any such determination must still be made by the Comt.

DESCRIPTION OF THE LAWSUIT
A lawsuit has been brought by Evan Nordgren ("Plaintiff') against Epic in the United States District Court for the
Western District of Wisconsin (Case No. 13-CV-840). The lawsuit alleges that Epic violated the Fair Labor Standards
Act ("FLSA") by classifying QA employees as exempt from the requirements of the FLSA to pay time and a half wages
for all hours worked in excess of 40 per week.
Epic denies Plaintiff's claim that it violated the FLSA. To the contrary, Epic contends that it properly compensated its
QA employees as salaried employees exempt from overtime wages.
The Court will ultimately decide the merits of this case, and how much, if any, overtime wages and liquidated damages
will be awarded. Nothing in this Notice should be viewed as an admission of wrongdoing by Epic.

WHO IS SENDING THE NOTICE
We are the lawyers representing Plaintiff and other potential class members who timely consent to join this lawsuit. We
are from the law firms of Hawks Quindel, S.C. and Habush Habush & Rottier S.C. We prepared and sent this Notice to
you. Although the judge in this case allowed us to send you this Notice, the judge has expressed no opinion about
Plaintiff's claims, Defendant's defenses or whether the Plaintiff or any other similarly situated employees are entitled to
recover any monies in this action.

YOUR RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS SUIT
If you believe that Epic has failed to properly compensate you because it classified you as a salaried employee exempt
from ove1time wages, you have the right to participate in this lawsuit. To join the lawsuit, you must sign, date, and
return the attached Consent Form to Plaintiff's counsel for filing with the Court. It is entirely your own decision whether
to participate in this lawsuit. You are not required to take any action unless you so desire, and you are not required to
pay any money to participate.

RETALIATION PROHIBITED
The law prohibits anyone, including your employer, from discriminating or retaliating against you for taking part in this
case or because you have exercised your rights under the FLSA.

HOW AND WHEN TO JOIN THE SUIT
Enclosed you will find a Consent Form. If you choose to join this lawsuit, you must read, sign, and return the Consent
Form to Plaintiff's counsel by [60 days from Notice]. Should the enclosed form become lost or misplaced, please
contact Plaintiff's lawyers listed at the bottom of this Notice.

Case: 3:13-cv-00840-bbc Document #: 45-1 Filed: 05/01/14 Page 3 of 4

The signed Consent Form must be postmarked on or before [60 days from Notice] for you to participate in this case. If
you fail to return the completed consent form before that deadline, you will not be able to participate in this lawsuit.

If you have any questions about filling out or sending in the Consent Form, you may contact Plaintiffs lawyers listed on
the final page of this Notice.

EFFECT OF JOINING THIS LAWSUIT

If you choose to join this lawsuit, you will be engaged in a lawsuit against Epic. As a party plaintiff to the lawsuit you
will be bound by any ruling, judgment, award, or settlement in this case, whether it is favorable or unfavorable. If you
join this lawsuit, your continued right to participate in the case may depend on a later decision by the Court that you
and Plaintiff are actually " similarly situated" in accordance with federal law.
While this lawsuit is pending, individuals who join the lawsuit may be required to provide information or documents,
appear for a deposition, testify at trial or otherwise participate in this action.
By joining this lawsuit, you designate the Plaintiff as your agent to make decisions on your behalf concerning the
litigation, the method and manner of conducting this litigation and to look out for the best interests of the class. The
decisions and agreements made and entered into by the Plaintiff will be binding on you if you join this lawsuit, unless
you choose to withdraw your consent. The representative Plaintiff in this lawsuit has entered into a contingency fee
agreement with Plaintiffs lawyers, which means that if there is no recovery, there will be no attorney' s fees chargeable
to you from Plaintiffs lawyers. If you do not prevail on your claim, Court costs and expenses may possibly be assessed
against the class. If there is a recovery, Plaintiff's lawyers will be paid attorney' s fees in an amount that is subject to
the discretion of the Court.

If you choose not to join this lawsuit, you will not be affected by any judgment or settlement of the FLSA claims in this
case, whether favorable or unfavorable to the class. You will be free to file your own lawsuit, if you wish to do so.
RIGHT TO CONSULT WITH US

If you want to talk with us about this lawsuit, please feel free to caJI, write or e-mail us from your personal (not work) email account during non-working time:
Atty. William E. Parsons
HAWKS QUINDEL, S.C.
222 W. Washington Ave., Ste. 450
Tel. : [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-Mai l: [e-mail]

Atty. Breanne L. Snapp
HABUSH HABUSH & ROTTIER, S.C.
150 East Gilman Street, Suite 2000
Tel.: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-Mail: [e-mail]

THIS NOTICE AND ITS CONTENTS HAVE BEEN AUTHORIZED BY THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT
COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN. THE COURT HAS TAKEN NO POSITION
REGARDING THE MERITS OF THE PLAINTIFF'S CLAIMS OR THE DEFENDANT'S DEFENSES. PLEASE
DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT FOR ANY REASON.

Case: 3:13-cv-00840-bbc Document#: 45-1 Filed: 05/01/14 Page 4 of 4

PLAINTIFF CONSENT FORM

By signing below, I state that I have been employed by Epic Systems Corporation as a
Quality Assurance employee within the past three (3) years and that I hereby give my
consent to be included in this lawsuit for the claims described in the court-approved
notice that accompanied this form.

Signature and Date
Print Name
Address
City, State, Zip Code
Home Telephone
Mobile Telephone
E-Mail Address

PLEASE SIGN AND RETURN TO:
HAWKS OUINDEL SC
222 WEST WASHINGTON AVENUE, SUITE 450
MADISON, WISCONSIN
53703
OR EMAIL/FAX TO:
WPARSONSla2HO-LAW.COM
FAX: (60"8) 2""56-0236
QUESTIONS? CALL [phone]