A statewide collective action has been filed in Florida against Laird Plastics, Inc. The action is brought on behalf of all current and former employees of Laird who have not been compensated in accordance to federal law for all hours worked in excess of 40 per week. The action is brought under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and seeks back pay, statutory and liquidated damages as well as injunctive and declaratory relief. As a collective action, all potential claimants must voluntarily "opt-in" to the case in order to be considered a member of the class. The employees have requested that the court issue notice to all potential claimants.

According to employees, Laird has engaged in a systematic and willful practice of denying overtime compensation to all hourly employees working beyond 40 hours per week. The employees claim that although they were frequently called upon to work as much as 55 hours per week, Laird had no provisions in place to compensate them for overtime in accordance to federal law. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, all "non-exempt" employees are entitled to a minimum of time and a half for all hours worked in excess of 40 per week. "Non-exempt" employees are generally those that work on an hourly basis and do not perform managerial or executive functions. The employees, who were hourly laborers, claim that they are non-exempt and are entitled to overtime under the Act. Additionally, the employees claim that since Laird's actions were willful, they are entitled to an equal amount of liquidated damages. The employees assert that the potential class may number as much as 200 persons.