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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS 

EASTERN DIVISION

JOEL BYRD, JOHN A. PERKOVICH, )

JOSEPH J. WRIGHT, LOUIS J. GORDON, ) 

MICHAEL KEELE, PEDRO LUNA, )

and ROBERT J. COOPER, and ) 

all others similarly situated, )

) Case No. 1:20-cv-3613

Plaintiffs, ) 

) Hon. Sara L. Ellis 

v. ) 

)

CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY, )

)

Defendant. )

JOINT MOTION FOR ENTRY OF ORDER CERTIFYING COLLECTIVE 

ACTION STATUS AND APPROVING AGREED NOTICE OF COLLECTIVE 

ACTION, PLAINTIFFS’ CONSENT FORM AND OPT-IN PROCEDURE

All parties, by and through their respective attorneys, hereby move this Honorable Court 

for entry of an order (a) conditionally certifying the class of collective Plaintiffs defined herein, 

and (b) approving an agreed “Notice of Collective Action,” an agreed “Plaintiff’s Consent Form,” 

and an agreed opt-in procedure. In support of said motion, the parties jointly state as follows:

1. This is a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and the 

Illinois Minimum Wage Law (“IMWL”). Plaintiffs, current and former employees of CTA, assert 

claims against Defendant, Chicago Transit Authority (“CTA”) under those statutes on behalf of 

themselves and all similarly-situated persons. Plaintiffs allege that CTA did not pay affected 

employees’ overtime at the proper rates. 

2. Count I of Plaintiffs’ Complaint asserts a violation of Sections 207 and 215(a)(2) 

of the FLSA, 29 U.S.C. §§ 207 and 215(a)(2), based on CTA’s alleged failure to include shift 

differentials in calculating the rate of pay for overtime work performed. (Dkt. 1, pp. 4-6).

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3. Count II of Plaintiffs’ Complaint asserts a violation of Section 4a of the IMWL,

820 ILCS 105/4a, based on CTA’s alleged failure to include shift differentials in calculating the 

rate of pay for overtime work performed. (Dkt. 1, pp. 7-8).

4. In the interests of judicial economy and minimizing the accrual of unnecessary 

attorneys’ fees and costs, the parties have negotiated and agreed upon the following conditional 

class of collective Plaintiffs under the FLSA and IMWL for Counts I and II of Plaintiffs’ 

Complaint:

All current and former employees of CTA who, at any time from the 

period of June 19, 2017, to the present, (a) were members of any one 

of the bargaining units represented by the 11 Coalition unions or by 

Teamsters Local 700, (b) worked on a second or third shift, and (c) 

worked more than 40 hours in at least one workweek.

5. The parties agree, for purposes of this motion, that the individuals described above 

were subject to a common policy or plan with respect to CTA’s calculation of overtime rates of 

pay and are therefore an appropriate class of collective Plaintiffs under the FLSA and the IMWL. 

6. In the interests of judicial economy and minimizing the accrual of unnecessary 

attorneys’ fees and costs, the parties have negotiated and agreed upon the language of a “Notice 

of Collective Action,” which is attached as Exhibit 1, and “Plaintiff’s Consent Form,” which is 

attached as Exhibit 2. 

7. The parties jointly propose the following opt-in procedure:

(a) Within seven (7) days of the date on which the Court enters its order 

approving of the attached “Notice of Collective Action,”

(1) CTA shall provide to Plaintiffs’ counsel a comprehensive list of all 

individuals who qualify for inclusion in the Class described in Paragraph 4, 

above. This list shall include each individual’s name, most recent home 

address, telephone number, personal email address (where available), and 

union bargaining unit. For ease of use, this list shall be provided in an Excel 

spreadsheet. The Parties agree that if there are any issues, concerns or 

discrepancies in the list provided by Defendant, the Parties will make all 

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reasonable efforts to confirm the accuracy of the list and to update or revise 

the list as necessary. 

(b) Within thirty (30) days of the date on which the Court enters an order 

approving the “Notice of Collective Action,” Plaintiffs will send out said Notice, along 

with a copy of “Plaintiff’s Consent Form,” to all putative class members.

(c) All putative class members who desire to opt in to this litigation shall do so 

by signing and returning a copy of “Plaintiff’s Consent Form” to Plaintiffs’ counsel within 

ninety (90) days of the date on which the Court enters an order approving the “Notice of 

Collective Action”. Plaintiffs’ counsel shall supply each putative class member with a 

return envelope and an email address to which Consent Forms can be returned.

8. All consent forms postmarked or otherwise received by Plaintiffs’ counsel and 

subsequently filed by Plaintiffs’ counsel in accordance with this opt-in procedure shall be deemed 

to have been filed as of June 19, 2020, the date the Complaint and initial consent forms were filed 

in this case. 

9. The parties agree that all putative class members are not subject to an arbitration 

agreement that waives their right to sue under Counts I or II of the Complaint.

10. The parties agree and acknowledge that nothing in this Motion stands for, nor will 

be construed to stand for, the position that Defendant has admitted any wrongdoing. Indeed, 

Defendant denies that Defendant has (1) violated the Fair Labor Standards Act in any way, (2) 

willfully violated the Fair Labor Standards Act in any way, or (3) violated the Illinois Minimum 

Wage Act in any way.

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WHEREFORE, the parties pray that the Court enter an order awarding the following relief:

(1) Conditionally certifying the class of collective Plaintiffs defined in Paragraph 4

herein;

(2) Approving the attached “Notice of Collective Action” and “Plaintiff’s Consent 

Form” referenced in Paragraph 6 herein; 

(3) Approving the opt-in procedure set out in Paragraph 7 herein and requiring the 

parties to comply with each component thereof; and

(4) Tolling the limitations period such that any consent forms filed after June 19, 

2020, the date the Complaint and initial consent forms were filed in this case, 

shall be deemed to have been filed as of June 19, 2020.

Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Matt Pierce

Amanda R. Clark 

Matt Pierce

Asher, Gittler & D’Alba, Ltd. 

200 W. Jackson Blvd. Suite 720

Chicago, Illinois 60606

312/263-1500 (phone)

312/263-1520 (fax)

arc@ulaw.com

mjp@ulaw.com

Counsel for Plaintiffs

Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Michael W. Duffee

Michael W. Duffee

Thompson Coburn LLP

55 East Monroe Street

37th Floor

Chicago, IL 60603

P: 312 580 2218

F: 312 580 2201

mduffee@thompsoncoburn.com

Counsel for Defendant 

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