Bruce Charles Cohen v. Consilio, LLC and Consilio Services, LLC

Minneapolis, Minnesota, employment law lawyer represented the Plaintiff who sued on a wage and hour law violation theory.



Consilio is a nationwide legal document review company with offices in

Minnesota. Cohen began working for Consilio in 2018 as an hourly licensed attorney

document reviewer. In July 2019, Consilio sent an email to Cohen and other

Minnesota-based hourly licensed attorney document reviewers, explaining that it

would be instituting a new premium overtime policy in August 2019. The new policy

eliminated overtime premium pay and clarified that Cohen and his fellow employees

would be paid "at [their] base pay rate” for all hours worked.



In August 2020, Cohen sued Consilio on behalf of himself and a putative

class, alleging that Consilio failed to pay overtime wages owed to him and similarly

situated employees. Cohen alleged that Consilio's actions violated the Minnesota

Payment of Wages Act (MPWA), Minn. Stat. Ann. §§ 181.101, 181.171, subd. 1;

Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act (MFLSA), Minn. Stat. Ann. §§ 177.25, 177.27,

subd. 8; and Minnesota Wage Theft Act (MWTA), Minn. Stat. Ann. §§ 181.032(f),

(d)(4), 181.171, subd. 1, 177.27. As remedies, Cohen sought overtime pay,

liquidated damages, statutory penalties, and injunctive relief.

Affirmed in part and reversed in part.