Kellogg Worker Must Arbitrate FLSA Claim, Judge Says
On Thursday, February 15, 20108, U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon, a Nevada Federal Judge, sent a Kellogg worker’s class action claim that he had been denied proper overtime pay by a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act by the Kellogg Co company to arbitration. This was because the employment agreement that retail sales representative Brian Smith had signed had a provision that an arbitrator must decide if an allegation should be arbitrable or not.
The Judge made note that Smith may not have realized what he had agreed to when he signed the agreement. This was that in exchange for staying on as the Kellogg company eliminated positions such as his, he was entitled to particular incentives and benefits.
The Kellogg Co company had petitioned for the case to be dismissed, but the judge only paused the case until the arbitration is completed. He stated that there is a preference for stays rather than dismissals.
When contacted for comment Thursday, Christian J. Gabroy, who represents Smith, said, “We will pursue all legal avenues to protect our clients and look forward to working hard to get our clients the justice they deserve.”
Smith is represented by Matt Dunn and Alex Dumas of Getman Sweeney & Dunn PLLC and Christian J. Gabroy of Gabroy | Messer.
Kellogg is represented by Tami D. Cowden, James N. Boudreau, Christiana L. Signs and James Nelson of Greenberg Traurig LLP.
The case is Smith v. Kellogg Co. et al., case number 2:17-cv-01914, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.
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