Des Moines Register Reporters Represented by Nichols Kaster, PLLP Seek Compensation for Unpaid Hours

    MINNEAPOLIS, MN, January 22, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- On December 14, 2015, a former reporter for The Des Moines Register filed an Amended Complaint against The Des Moines Register and Tribune Company and Gannet Co., Inc. ("Defendants") individually, and on behalf of current and former reporters who worked for Defendants in Iowa at any time within the past three years. Specifically, the Amended Complaint alleges that Defendants operated with unrealistic expectations, such that employees often could not complete all of their work in 40 hours each week. Plaintiff Epstein alleges that as a result, and through the practice of refusing to approve overtime, Defendants required him, as well as other members of the putative class, to work "off-the-clock" in order to meet Defendants' requirements and deadlines. The lawsuit alleges that Defendants failed to pay its Reporter I's, II's and Senior Reporters for all of the hours they worked, and seeks to recover unpaid wages and liquidated damages for these workers.

The Des Moines Register and Tribune Company publishes two editions of its newspaper on a daily basis. The State Edition is distributed to 74 counties outside of Central Iowa, while the Central Iowa edition is delivered to the metro market, including households in the greater Des Moines area. Gannett is marketing solutions company that reaches millions of people every day through digital, mobile, broadcast, and print media.

Plaintiffs' attorney Matthew Morgan stated, "Our lawsuit seeks to recover pay that we believe Defendants have unfairly denied to its employees."

Plaintiffs are represented by Matthew H. Morgan and Kate Fisher from Nichols Kaster, PLLP in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Wesley T. Graham from Graham, Ervanian & Cacciatore, LLP in Des Moines, Iowa. Nichols Kaster, PLLP represents employees and consumers across the country in individual and class action matters.

The case is entitled, Epstein v. Des Moines Register and Tribune Company, and Gannett Co., Inc. Case No.: 4:15-cv-00453 (Southern District of Iowa).

Additional information about how to make a claim in the case may be found at www.nka.com or by calling Nichols Kaster, PLLP toll free at (877) 448-0492 ext. 260.

Nichols Kaster is a nationally recognized plaintiffs firm that focuses on representing employees and consumers whose rights have been violated. The firm was selected as a member of the National Law Journal's Litigation Boutiques Hot List, ranked as a Best Law Firm by U.S. News & World Report, selected as a top plaintiffs' employment law firm by Law360 and named one the top 50 Elite Trial Lawyers by The National Law Journal and Law.com.

The firm is led by its partners, who are regularly selected by their peers as Super Lawyers, and sit on the boards of numerous professional organizations, including the National Association of Employment Lawyers, the ABA Fair Labor Standards Legislation Committee and the Council for the Minnesota State Bar Association's Consumer Litigation Section.

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