Some Plaintiffs Have Actually Been Paid
Although this process has again been slow, with the State missing promised deadlines, a small group of approximately 130 Plaintiffs have been paid. The process works with the State taking a number of accepted claims and reducing them to judgment. The State has an additional two judgment orders prepared for an additional 260 Plaintiffs. Allegedly the State will speed up the payment process and get the checks written faster after the Court signs the agreed upon judgment. However, problems still exist in the process. State Claim of Newly Discovered Errors – Slows Process for Some Plaintiffs
The Sate has claimed that a number of Plaintiffs had their claims processed as if they were entitled to time and one half overtime when by virtue of an union contract, they had already received straight time credit for overtime. With this being the case all they would be entitled to would be the remaining half time. The State has refused to honor the first judgment that was entered into in this case for approximately 20 Plaintiffs who are in this situation. The State has also refused to honor the claims that were offered and accepted in the recalculations for an additional 20 or so Plaintiffs. The State is now taking the position that this isn’t an acceptance of an offer, but is merely a verification of a calculation amount. The State has filed a motion to vacate the judgment for those Plaintiffs whose checks it has held. We will file a motion to uphold the acceptance of the State calculations amount for those and approximately 20 other Plaintiffs. Our next update will let you know how the Court will rule on this issue. Given the way this case has proceeded with the offer and acceptance of the initial claims being strictly enforced by both sides, it is my anticipation that we will appeal any adverse ruling in this area with the Court of Appeals. Penalty Pay
(See the July 26, 2006 Update Concerning Penalty Pay) The State has not forwarded its calculations on this issue to us. We appreciate all the Plaintiffs who are updating us on their employment status with the State. |