UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
Chittum v. National Lutheran Inc et al. (NLI)
Case No. 5:24-cv-00082-JHY-JCH

  

WHY AM I RECEIVING THIS NOTICE?

  • You have been identified as eligible to participate in a settlement of the above lawsuit.
  • You and others who are eligible to participate are called the Settlement Collective.
  • The purpose of this Notice of Settlement of Class and Collection Action Lawsuit, Allocation and Release (the “Notice”) is to inform you that you are eligible to participate in the settlement and to discuss your rights and options with respect to the underlying lawsuit and the settlement.
  • This is a court-approved Notice.
  • Your legal rights will be affected.
  • YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE MONEY FROM THE COURT-APPROVED SETTLEMENT IN THIS CASE, AS DESCRIBED BELOW (YOUR “INDIVIDUAL SETTLEMENT AMOUNT”):

WHAT IS THIS LAWSUIT ABOUT? 

On October 11, 2024, litigation was initiated by Jessica Chittum (“Named Plaintiff”), on behalf of herself and others similarly situated, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia against National Lutheran, Inc. d/b/a National Lutheran Communities & Services and The Legacy At North Augusta, Inc. (together “Defendants” or “NLI”) regarding claims of (1) failure to properly calculate overtime rates of pay when employees worked more than forty hours in a workweek and (2) failure to correctly incorporate shift differentials, non-discretionary bonuses, and similar forms of incentive pay in calculating overtime rates of pay (together, the “Overtime Rate Claims”). NLI denies the allegations and asserts, among other defenses, that Named Plaintiff and all others were properly paid, that NLI had a good faith basis for its pay practices, and that any violation of the overtime rules was not willful.

The parties have since reached a resolution through a court-approved settlement agreement (the “Settlement Agreement”) that involves monetary payments to members of the Settlement Collective who choose to participate in the settlement.

WHAT IS THIS NOTICE ABOUT?

This Notice is to inform you that the Court has preliminarily approved the terms of the Settlement Agreement and has approved, for settlement purposes, distribution of this Notice to eligible members of the Settlement Collective, comprising current and former employees of NLI who worked overtime between October 11, 2021 and December 6, 2024, whose alleged unpaid overtime wages at issue exceed or equal one dollar. The Court has not decided whether NLI has violated federal or state law, and this Notice does not imply in any way any Court’s endorsement of Plaintiff’s claims. The Settlement Agreement is the result of arms-length negotiations between Named Plaintiff and NLI and their respective attorneys.  Both sides agree that the Settlement Agreement is fair and appropriate under the circumstances. 

The parties submitted the Settlement Agreement to the Court, who preliminarily approved the Settlement Agreement on [APPROVAL DATE].

You are now being given the chance to join in the settlement. By joining the settlement and receiving your payment, you will release claims against Defendants, as explained in detail below. There are two releases, one covering Released Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) Claims, and one covering Released State Law Claims.   

Important Dates:

  • The deadline to submit a Claim Form, object to the Settlement, or opt out of the case is February 5, 2026. 

For more information, you may click on the Important Documents tab for Court Documents or the Contact Us tab above to obtain information for the Settlement Administrator or Counsel for this matter.