The H-2B Visa Dispute: Contract or Mere Application?
The lawsuit also hinges on whether Epic’s H-2B visa applications constituted contractual agreements promising overtime pay. The plaintiffs argue that the applications contained an implied obligation, while Epic counters that these documents were submitted to the Department of Labor, not the workers themselves.
“Plaintiffs never saw the H-2B applications or knew of their contents,” Epic said. “Some workers even acknowledged that Epic had made it clear overtime would not be paid.”
The Scope of the Class Action
The lawsuit, filed in May 2022, gained momentum in October when the court certified three worker classes:
- U.S. citizens and H-2B employees in Missouri from May 30, 2019, to July 4, 2021, who were denied overtime.
- H-2B employees from May 30, 2017, to July 4, 2021, whose visa applications allegedly promised overtime but were not paid.
- U.S. citizens classified as third-party beneficiaries of Epic’s H-2B contracts, entitling them to the same wages as foreign workers, including overtime.
A separate collective action covers all current and former lawn and landscape workers from April 28, 2020, onward, with 250 workers opting in.
