DiCello Levitt and Co-Counsel Secure Sweeping Summary Judgment Victory Establishing Statewide Liability for Unpaid Wages
RALEIGH, N.C. – A federal judge has ruled in favor of more than 16,000 North Carolina correctional officers on liability in a landmark wage and hour lawsuit, holding that the State must compensate officers for all time spent working inside correctional facilities, including uncompensated pre‑ and post‑shift time.
In Matthew Hodge, et al. v. North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina denied the State’s motion for summary judgment and unilaterally granted partial summary judgment for plaintiffs, finding as a matter of law that correctional officers are entitled to pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and North Carolina contract law.
The Court ruled that correctional officers’ principal job duties include constant vigilance and readiness to respond to emergencies, and that this work begins when officers enter prison facilities — not only when their scheduled shifts officially start. With liability established, the case now proceeds solely on the issue of damages.
“This is a decisive win for correctional officers across North Carolina,” said DiCello Levitt Founding Partner Adam Levitt. “The Court recognized the reality of the work our clients perform every day — that maintaining safety and security inside prisons requires constant vigilance, and that officers must be paid for that work.”
“We are proud to stand with these correctional officers and will continue fighting to secure every dollar that they’re owed,” added Partner Dan Schwartz. “This ruling brings them one step closer to the justice that they deserve.”
The lawsuit was brought on behalf of correctional officers and sergeants employed at correctional facilities statewide. Plaintiffs allege that the State failed to pay them for all hours worked, including straight‑time and overtime hours spent performing required pre‑ and post‑shift activities critical to prison safety and security.
In its ruling, the Court rejected the State’s arguments that the uncompensated time was minimal or non‑compensable, holding that even small amounts of unpaid time are compensable when aggregated across thousands of employees. The Court also limited the State’s ability to reduce damages, ruling that it may not offset unpaid wages with alleged overpayments or exclude unpaid work performed by non‑opt‑in class members.
In February 2024, the Court certified a class of more than 16,000 current and former correctional officers, marking one of the largest wage‑and‑hour class actions involving public‑sector employees in North Carolina.
The DiCello Levitt attorneys representing plaintiffs in the case are Adam Levitt, Dan Schwartz, and Eaghan Davis, working alongside co‑counsel.
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