This story today originating with the Washington Post, headlined "Workers filing record number of overtime suits: Back-pay receipts most in a decade," includes a reference to Indiana:
Workers around the country are filing a record number of federal lawsuits alleging employers are breaking labor laws by asking them to work longer than 40 hours without proper pay. * * *Posted by Marcia Oddi at April 13, 2004 05:45 PMWal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation's largest retailer, is facing more than three dozen lawsuits alleging workers were paid less than they deserve under law, including suits in California, Florida, Massachusetts, Oregon, Indiana and Minnesota. * * *
Attorneys who represent workers say lawsuits and enforcement actions are increasing because employers are violating labor law more than in the past. One, Adam T. Klein, said that weak enforcement of labor laws under the Clinton and Bush administrations has left the private bar "to pick up the slack."
Brad Seligman, a lawyer who helps fund wage-and-hour lawsuits for workers, said the Labor Department is changing the overtime rules because workers are winning so often.
"If these lawsuits are frivolous, why are the settlements and judgments so large?" Seligman said. "Companies are being caught with clear-cut violations of law that for years they've gotten away with."
Attorneys who represent employers counter that the overtime rules are no longer suitable for a modern workplace.
"The rules are so outdated, they are a litigator's dream," said Larry Bridgesmith, an attorney who represents corporations.
Bridgesmith said a court decision that allows workers to be notified they might be eligible for back pay had "increased the level of interest" among plaintiffs generally and made them eager to pursue claims.