NAGE Reaches $60 million Settlement for VA Members

The National Association of Government Employees and the Department of Veterans Affairs Enter Into a $60 Million Settlement of Fair Labor Standards Act & Overtime Grievances.

Washington, DC. - The National Association of Government Employees (NAGE) announced today that a settlement has been reached in NAGE’s FLSA & Overtime Grievance filed against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). NAGE is pleased to have resolved this matter through cooperative efforts with the VA, and the willingness of the Biden/Harris Administration to meet us at the table and rectify this misstep.

In order to uphold our commitment to ensuring that NAGE members are paid appropriately under the FLSA, NAGE filed a Grievance in April 2019 on behalf of our bargaining unit employees within the VA. The basis of the Grievance was that certain VA members were being incorrectly designated as exempt from the FLSA. This led to NAGE members not being compensated correctly for overtime work under federal law. Other key Grievance allegations included the failure of the VA to provide any compensation for “off-the-clock” work, commonly referred to as suffered or permitted overtime.

The settlement terms require the VA to pay a total of $60,000,000 to resolve all claims made by NAGE, including those on behalf of current and former employees who were not compensated properly. In addition, the VA agreed that a significant number of employees who had previously declared FLSA exempt would be covered by the FLSA and compensated accordingly moving forward.

“This is an incredible victory for our VA members,” said NAGE National President David J. Holway. “Our members work tirelessly to ensure that veterans and their families are treated with dignity and respect. They should be compensated fairly, as provided under the law. We are proud to make them whole under this agreement.”

NAGE was represented in this case by its in-house legal department and the Law Offices of Snider & Associates, LLC, which has resolved many similar cases against federal government agencies nationwide. Payments to affected employees are expected to begin in mid to late 2025. We will continue to provide updates as the implementation and distribution process progresses.