Liz v. 5 Tellers Assocs., L.P., 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63800
Attorneys Marc Rapaport and Meredith Miller represent superintendents who worked for Property Management Group, Inc. (“PMG”), which manages apartment buildings in New York City. On January 10, 2020, Rapaport Law Firm filed a federal court complaint on behalf of four PMG superintendents, demanding that defendant PMG compensate our clients for years of unpaid overtime pay.
Under Section 216(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, employees are allowed to assert claims on behalf of themselves, as well as other similarly situated employees. By allowing an employee to bring a case on behalf of all similarly situated employees, courts ensure that abusive employers are stopped in their tracks. This process is known as “certifying” a lawsuit as a collective action. Certification is a two-step procedure. The first stage is “conditional certification” of the collective action. At this juncture, the court authorizes notice to other potential claimants
In the lawsuit against PMG, Mr. Rapaport and Ms. Miller requested that the Court grant conditional certification, and direct that similarly situated superintendents of PMG be provided with written notice of their opportunity to join our clients in asserting their wage rights. On April 1, 2021, Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York issued a decision granting conditional certification of our clients’ proceeding as a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Recently, PMG superintendents in the Bronx were issued written notice of their right to join the Liz v. 5 Tellers lawsuit.
Marc Rapaport and Meredith Miller have effectively represented superintendents and other building maintenance workers in overtime cases against New York City’s largest landlords and building management companies. In 2020, Mr. Rapaport and Ms. Miller obtained preliminary approval of a $7,100,000 settlement in a federal court case involving claims of superintendents, porters and handymen who were deprived of overtime pay.