New Year Could Bring Settlement In District 205 School District Wage Lawsuit

A resolution could be in the works for a lawsuit filed against the Elmhurst School District earlier this year by administrative personnel who claimed the district shorted their pay.

According to federal court records, a judge has scheduled a Jan. 15 settlement conference in the lawsuit filed in March by attorneys for Suzanne Holler, Mary Caliri and other “similarly situated employees.” They have until Jan. 2 to share a settlement proposal with lawyers for the district, who were given until Jan. 9 to respond.

Attorneys for both sides could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday.

The suit contends the district owes unpaid wages and overtime to administrative employees who worked for the district within the last six years. The employees also accuse the district of violating the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and Illinois minimum wage and payment laws.

In general, the employees, whose duties included payroll and human resource functions, regularly worked more than 40 hours per week, were improperly designated as “exempt” from overtime pay and lost wages when the district shifted the standard work week to 37.5 hours without paying for time worked up to 40 hours, the suit alleges.

The district denied all allegations of wrongdoing in its formal response to the lawsuit in November, nearly eight months after the lawsuit was filed.

“At all relevant times, the plaintiffs were properly classified as employees exempt from the overtime pay provisions” in the Fair Labor Standards and Illinois Minimum Wage law, the district wrote in its response.

The suit, which covers about 30 administrative workers, seeks compensation for the lost wages, as well as interest on any missing pay, according to court documents.

District officials have previously declined to comment on pending litigation.