On May 30, 2008, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania issued an important decision reaffirming the right of unionized prison guards employed in Scranton, Pennsylvania to pursue their Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) claim notwithstanding the existence of a collective bargaining agreement between their union and their employer. In Gallagher, et al. v. Lackawanna County, 3:07-cv-00912-TIV, a group of Lackawanna County (PA) sergeants and corrections officers filed a federal court lawsuit asserting that, under the FLSA, they were entitled to full compensation, including overtime pay, for time spent attending daily pre-shift meetings and picking up radio batteries. The county sought dismissal of the lawsuit, alleging that the existence of a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) between the county and the prison prohibited the plaintiffs from pursuing their FLSA lawsuit in federal court.
