Lawsuit Investigation: Does CoreCivic Owe Correctional Officers Unpaid Wages?
Last Updated on June 7, 2024
Investigation Complete
Attorneys working with ClassAction.org have finished their investigation into this matter.
Check back for any potential updates. The information on this page is for reference only.
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At A Glance
- This Alert Affects:
- Anyone who worked for CoreCivic as a correctional officer or in a similar position.
- What’s Going On?
- Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are investigating whether legal action can be taken against CoreCivic for possibly failing to pay correctional officers in accordance with federal law. Specifically, workers may not have been properly paid for off-the-clock work and overtime hours, including time spent in security screenings.
- How Could a Lawsuit Help?
- A lawsuit, if successful, could help correctional officers recover back pay for unpaid overtime wages and pre- and post-shift work. It could also force CoreCivic to change how its employees are paid.
Case Update
March 20, 2024 – CoreCivic Unpaid Overtime Lawsuit Filed in Federal Court
CoreCivic has been hit with a proposed class and collective action lawsuit that alleges the nation’s largest prison owner and operator has failed to pay proper overtime wages by requiring staff to undergo unpaid, off-the-clock security screenings.
The lawsuit, filed in Tennessee federal court on February 21, 2024, looks to represent all current and former hourly paid, non-exempt correctional officers who worked in CoreCivic’s correctional and detention center facilities and underwent security screenings within the past few years and who worked more than 40 hours in at least one workweek.
Read ClassAction.org’s write-up about the CoreCivic unpaid overtime lawsuit.
Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are investigating whether a lawsuit can be filed against CoreCivic for potentially failing to pay its correctional officers in accordance with federal labor law.
Specifically, it’s believed that the for-profit prison operator may have unlawfully required certain employees to work off the clock before and after their shifts without pay – including during required security screenings – and may have denied them time-and-a-half overtime wages when they worked more than 40 hours per week.
As part of their investigation, the attorneys need to speak with current and former CoreCivic correctional officers as they work to determine whether a lawsuit can be filed.
Why Might Correctional Officers Be Owed for Overtime, Off-the-Clock Work?
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) stipulates that all workers who meet certain requirements – known as “non-exempt” employees – must be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and at least one-and-a-half times their regular pay rate for all hours worked over 40 per week.
Importantly, even workers who are paid a yearly salary instead of an hourly wage may still be classified as non-exempt.
The attorneys working with ClassAction.org are looking into whether CoreCivic correctional officers are non-exempt employees entitled to minimum and overtime wages. If so, CoreCivic may have violated the FLSA by failing to pay its correctional officers for work performed before and after their shifts, including time spent in required security screenings, and failing to provide time-and-a-half overtime wages for all hours worked in excess of 40 each week.
How Could a Lawsuit Help?
A lawsuit could help former and current CoreCivic correctional officers recover back pay for unpaid regular and overtime wages. It could also potentially force the prison operator to change its pay practices to ensure employees are paid in accordance with federal law.
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