Workers at Hanwha Philly Shipyard could soon see cash for all those extra steps across the yard. The South Philadelphia shipbuilder has agreed to pay $900,000 to settle a class-action lawsuit claiming employees were not paid for time spent walking across the sprawling facility. If a judge signs off, roughly $603,000 would be left for affected workers after attorneys’ fees and costs are taken out.
Federal court filings show the parties have asked the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to grant preliminary approval, a move that would kick off formal notice to workers and a later fairness hearing, according to Justia Dockets & Filings. Hanwha bought the yard in late 2024 and has since ramped up work and hiring at the former Philadelphia Navy Yard, as reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Settlement Terms And Allegations
Under the proposed deal, Hanwha would fund a $900,000 gross settlement. About 33 percent, roughly $297,000, is earmarked for plaintiffs’ attorneys and litigation costs, leaving an estimated $603,000 to be shared by about 752 workers. Individual payouts would be proportional, based on how many weeks each employee worked more than 39.5 hours. The two lead plaintiffs are slated to receive $10,000 apiece as service awards.
The core dispute is whether short periods of so-called “commuting walking time” after workers clocked in, those minutes spent walking to distant dry docks and work sites, should count as paid work between June 27, 2022 and Dec. 11, 2025. Counting that time as hours worked could have pushed some employees over 40 hours in a week and triggered overtime, according to the settlement filing and related industry coverage. Class members would not need to submit any separate claim form to get their share, iMarine reported.
Legal Stakes And Next Steps
If the court grants preliminary approval, it will typically order that notices be sent to class members and schedule a final fairness hearing before deciding whether to issue a binding judgment and dismiss the case. Pennsylvania law requires overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek, a rule that courts have reaffirmed in decisions interpreting the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s Chevalier opinion offers recent guidance on how state overtime calculations work, as discussed by FindLaw. The docket reflects that the parties have asked the Eastern District to set a timetable for preliminary approval and notice in the coming weeks, per Justia Dockets & Filings…