Visajel v. Natera, Inc.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

Visajel v. Natera, Inc., 23-cv-11051 (D. Mass.)

OFFICIAL COURT NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT

AND OPPORTUNITY TO JOIN COLLECTIVE ACTION

If you were employed by Natera, Inc (“Natera”) as a Patient Coordinator you are entitled to a payment as a result of the settlement of lawsuit against Natera. To receive the payment, you need to fill out a Claim Form. You can submit a Claim Form electronically by clicking this link: CLAIM FORM.  

A federal court authorized this notice. This is not a solicitation from a lawyer.

• This notice pertains to any individual employed by Natera, Inc. (“Natera”), as a Patient Coordinator, between August 10, 2020, and September 21, 2023.
• A current Patient Coordinator has sued Natera, alleging that Natera misclassified Patient Coordinators and Senior Patient Coordinators (collectively “Patient Coordinators”) as exempt from overtime and failed to pay them overtime compensation for all hours worked in excess of 40 per workweek. Natera denies these allegations and the Court has not made any ruling on the merits of Plaintiff’s claims or on the issue of class certification. The parties have entered into a settlement with the intention to avoid further disputes and litigation with their attendant inconvenience and expense.
• As described more fully below, to participate in the settlement, you must submit a properly completed Claim Form to the Settlement Administrator so that it is post-marked or received by fax, email, or online submission by February 20, 2024. If you fail to timely return a Claim Form post-marked or otherwise received by February 20, 2024, you will not receive any money from the settlement or from this litigation.

Your legal rights may be affected, and you have a choice to make:

YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS IN THIS SETTLEMENT:

RETURN THE CLAIM FORM

By returning a properly completed Claim Form here [CLAIM FORM] postmarked or otherwise received by February 20, 2024, you agree to participate in the settlement, receive a monetary settlement payment, and, once you cash the settlement check, to release your local, state, and federal wage and hour claims through December 31, 2023.

DO NOT RETURN THE CLAIM FORM

If you do not wish to participate in or be bound by the settlement, you should not return the Claim Form. If you do not timely return a properly completed Claim Form, you will not receive a monetary settlement payment. You will not release your claims but any such claims will not be pursued as part of this litigation.

These rights and options – and the deadlines to exercise them – are explained in this Notice.

Basic Information

1. WHO IS PART OF THE CLASS?

Eligible class members are those who worked as a Patient Coordinator at some point in time between August 10, 2020, and September 21, 2023.

This notice explains the lawsuit, the settlement, your legal rights, and what benefits are available.

The Court overseeing this case is the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. This lawsuit is known as Visajel. v. Natera, Inc., 23-cv11051. The person who filed the lawsuit is called the “Plaintiff.” Natera is called the “Defendant.”

2. WHAT IS THIS LAWSUIT ABOUT AND WHY IS THERE A SETTLEMENT?

The lawsuit is about whether, during the period covered by the lawsuit, Natera improperly classified Patient Coordinators as exempt employees who are not entitled to receive overtime compensation and failed to pay them overtime premium pay for the time they worked in excess of 40 hours a week.

Natera denies that it did anything wrong and believes that, during the period covered by the lawsuit, Patient Coordinators have been properly compensated as employees who are exempt from overtime. However, to avoid the burden, expense, and uncertainty of continuing litigation, the parties have agreed to this settlement. The Court has not made any ruling on the merits of the Plaintiff’s claims, and no party has prevailed in this action.

3. WHAT IS A COLLECTIVE ACTION?

In a “collective action,” one or more people called “Named Plaintiff(s)” sue on behalf of people who have similar claims. However, the other employees who have similar claims do not become part of the collective action until they “opt in” to the lawsuit. You may “opt in” to the lawsuit and participate in the settlement by returning the enclosed Claim Form. If you timely return the enclosed Claim Form, you will receive a settlement check. If you would like to receive a settlement check, you do not need to do anything other than return the Claim Form.

4. WHAT ARE THE TERMS OF THE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT?

Natera has agreed to pay $1,300,000.00 into a fund to settle the lawsuit and compensate Patient Coordinators who are covered by the settlement. The Court has also approved the following payments from the fund: (i) service award to the Named Plaintiff, in the amount of $15,000, in recognition of the risks the Named Plaintiff took and the Named Plaintiff’s service to the collective; and (iii) Settlement Administrator’s fees and costs, not to exceed $6,310. The Court has also determined that the attorneys who are representing the Named Plaintiff and any Opt-In Plaintiffs are entitled to reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs from that fund, in an amount to be determined after the Opt-In Plaintiffs have been paid, in an amount up to one- third of the total settlement fund, plus reasonable out-of-pocket costs.

5. HOW MUCH WILL MY PAYMENT BE AND HOW WAS IT CALCULATED?

The amount that has been allocated to you represents your pro rata share of the settlement amount approved by the Court, based upon an assumption of 45 hours worked for every workweek you worked in the relevant period (August 10, 2020, to September 21, 2023) multiplied by two for liquidated damages. You should have received a notice in the mail informing of your approximate payment, but if you would like to be told your approximate payment, please contact the settlement administrator toll free at (844) 625-7313 or by email at [email protected].

Based upon the allocation described in the preceding paragraph, half of this payment is subject to deductions for applicable taxes and withholdings like any other paycheck, for which you will receive a W-2, and half of the payment will be reported on a 1099.

Plaintiff’s Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel do not make any representations concerning the tax consequences of this settlement or participation in it, and you are advised to seek your own personal tax advice prior to acting in response to this notice.

6. HOW DO I MAKE A CLAIM?

In order to join in the lawsuit and receive a payment under the settlement, you must complete a claim form. You can fill out a claim form electronically by clicking this link CLAIM FORM. If you prefer, you can print out a copy of the claim form [PAPER CLAIM FORM] fill it out as indicated and mail, fax, or e-mail the form to the address, fax number, or email address listed below. If you submit a claim form electronically, you do not need to submit a physical copy of the form. Your Claim Form must be postmarked by or received through the website, by facsimile, or email no later than February 20, 2024.

The Settlement Administrator – to whom all Claim Forms should be submitted – is:

Natera Overtime Settlement
PO Box 3206
Brockton, MA 02304
Toll Free: 844-625-7313
Fax: 781-287-0381
Email: [email protected]

The Settlement Administrator will issue settlement checks to all Patient Coordinators who return timely Claim Forms approximately 21 days after the claim period ends. You will have 120 calendar days after the date your settlement check is issued to sign and cash your settlement check.

7. WHAT IS THE LEGAL EFFECT OF THE SETTLEMENT?

If you return a properly completed Claim Form, you will become part of the collective action settlement. Once you become part of the settlement, you cannot sue, continue to sue, or be a party in any other lawsuit against Natera that raise the same or similar claims as explained below. It also means that all of the Court’s orders in this case will apply to you and legally bind you.

The “Released claims” are (i) all claims for unpaid overtime compensation from August 10, 2020, through December 31, 2023, under federal and any state and local wage and hour laws, that were or could have been asserted in the Litigation and/or this matter, arising from your employment as an Patient Coordinator during that period of time; and (ii) all claims for wages, penalties, liquidated damages, interest, attorneys’ fees, costs or litigation expenses based on the claims listed in (i) above.

8. DO I HAVE A LAWYER IN THIS CASE?

The law firm of Rudolph Friedmann LLP has been designated as legal counsel to represent you and other Patient who participate in the settlement. You will not be charged separately for these lawyers. Their fees will be paid from the total settlement fund (as explained in Section 4 above).

9. HOW CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION?

If you have additional questions about this Notice or want more information, you can contact the Settlement Administrator, or Plaintiffs’ Counsel at the addresses and/or telephone numbers below.