Cerner to pay $4.5 million to settle overtime claims

A federal judge has approved a $4.5 million settlement in a class-action suit against health information tech giant Cerner, brought by employees who alleged the company violated laws governing overtime compensation.

U.S. District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan Jr. on June 11 gave final approval to the settlement, brought by named plaintiffs Fred Speer and Mike McGuirk.

Gaitan also approved $1,950,942 for the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees, $49,058 in costs and expenses, and $7,500 each for the named plaintiffs for their roles as class representatives.

Speer and McGuirk, both employed by Cerner in Columbia as desktop support staff, filed the suit in March 2014.

In the lawsuit, the employees alleged Cerner improperly calculated their overtime compensation by using a fluctuating workweek method, which divides employees’ fixed earnings by the number of hours they worked in a given week to arrive at a regular rate and then adding one-half time of the regular rate as overtime for all hours over 40.

The plaintiffs alleged that because they received payments in addition to their fixed salary, the payments invalidated the fluctuating-workweek method, entitling them to one and a half times their regular hourly rate.

The plaintiffs also alleged Cerner failed to fully pay its employees for their overtime and also systematically paid employees’ overtime compensation late, both in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Cerner denied the plaintiffs’ allegations in its response to the suit.

According to court records, 1,458 class members elected to participate in the settlement, claiming 61 percent of the total $4.5 million settlement amount.

Tracey George of Davis George Mook in Kansas City represented the plaintiffs. She declined to comment on the settlement.

Lori R. Schultz of Shook, Hardy & Bacon represented Cerner. She could not be reached for comment.