AT&T Satellite Installers Get Judge’s OK for $500,000 Wage Deal

Synergies T3, which provides AT&T Inc. satellite installation services, and more than 270 technicians across the country are one step closer to resolving Fair Labor Standards Act overtime claims, after their $500,000 settlement received preliminary approval from a federal judge in Missouri.

The workers who joined the FLSA collective will divide about $294,000. It’s estimated that each worker will receive between $50 to $5,632, with the average payout being about $1,000.

Class counsel was approved to receive $166,666 in attorneys’ fees and about $19,551 for litigation costs. The deal also allocates about $5,000 for administrative expenses.

The approval order was entered Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. Judge Stephen R. Clark scheduled a final hearing for November 30.

The deal resolves two consolidated lawsuits filed in February 2019 by Clinton Jackson and James Thomas in the Eastern District of Missouri and in April 2020 by Talon Overland in the Western District of Texas on behalf of similarly situated workers.

The workers, who were hired by Synergies T3 TEC Services LLC to perform satellite installations for AT&T customers in Illinois, Missouri, and Texas, alleged they were misclassified as independent contractors and consequently deprived of overtime pay under the FLSA and multiple state wage laws.

Under the deal, Jackson, Thomas, and Overland will each get $5,000 service awards.

Nichols Kaster PLLP and Weinhaus & Potashnick represent the workers. Armstrong Teasdale LLP and Gray Reed & McGraw LLP represent Synergies3.

The case is Jackson v. Synergies3 TEC Services, LLC, E.D. Mo., No. 4:19-cv-00178, 8/26/21.