OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (WATE) — A lawsuit alleging that hundreds of workers at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge were denied overtime pay will be dismissed after the contractor in charge of the site agreed to a multimillion-dollar settlement.
Court documents show that the settlement between Consolidated Nuclear Security and a group of 726 current and former workers was approved on Aug. 27 by U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan. In exchange for ending all claims against the company, CNS has agreed to pay a total gross sum of $4.9 million.
The lawsuit first filed in 2021 argued that that CNS was breaking Fair Labor Standards Act rules by not paying them for time needed to change into company-provided work clothes and travel to their assigned work locations.
As part of the settlement, CNS also agreed to move changing facilities closer to the work sites and add new locations where workers can clock in and out without delays.
Attorneys representing the workers plan to hold a press conference about the case Thursday.
Y-12 plays several critical roles in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Security Enterprise including maintaining the U.S. nuclear stockpile and fueling the U.S. Nuclear Navy.
