Toward the end of his summer employment as a city lifeguard in 2017, Benjamin Smith was surprised to discover an extra $100 or so in his paycheck. He was equally taken aback the next year when he attempted to use his accrued hours of paid sick time — a citywide benefit mandated by the St. Paul City Council in September 2016 — but was denied by supervisors.
The two occurrences were seemingly related, and set Smith — then a high school student — and his father on a two-and-a-half-year legal effort that may have finally turned a corner.
On Wednesday, the St. Paul City Council agreed to a $360,000 legal settlement of a class action lawsuit filed in 2019 by attorney Mark Smith on behalf of his son and 480 seasonal and part-time employees of the city’s aquatics division. If approved by the courts, the 480 lifeguards, admissions clerks and concession stand workers will be certified to share in the settlement funds together, though each worker will also have the option of opting out and pursuing their own legal action.
The settlement seeks to effectively pay back unused sick time from Jan. 1, 2017 to May 24, 2019, when the city took steps to better inform seasonal and part-time aquatics workers about their earned sick time benefit. As part of the legal settlement, the city admits no wrongdoing, but officials promise to track and document how it informs workers they can request paid sick time off.
Once certified by the courts, the employees...
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