The CoventBridge Group lawsuits are a pair of wage-and-hour cases brought by the company’s own field investigators, alleging the insurance fraud investigation firm underpaid them for overtime, travel time, and report writing. The larger of the two, a class and collective action in New York federal court, ended in a $1.2 million settlement approved in October 2021. An earlier Florida case brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act settled in April 2019 after the court refused to let it proceed as a collective action.
The $1.2 Million New York Settlement
Surveillance investigator Jane McSpirit filed suit against CoventBridge (USA) Inc. in July 2020 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 20-cv-5754. She sued on behalf of herself and other current and former investigators who had worked for the company in New York going back to September 2013, alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law for unpaid overtime and unpaid hours worked.1Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP. Coventbridge Complaint for Filing
The plaintiffs sought preliminary approval of the $1.2 million deal in May 2021.2Law360. Private Eyes Want $1.2M Deal OK’d in OT Wages Suit3CourtListener. McSpirit v. CoventBridge (USA), Inc.4Good Jobs First – Violation Tracker. CoventBridge (USA), Inc.
What the “Billing Efficiency” System Did
The core of the McSpirit complaint was a company practice it called “Billing Efficiency.” According to the filing, CoventBridge used an auto-populating timekeeping system that paid investigators based on formulas rather than the hours they actually worked. Report writing was credited at two minutes for every hour of surveillance performed, no matter how long a report took. Travel was calculated at roughly one minute per mile driven, and the first 30 minutes of travel in each direction were excluded outright.1Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP. Coventbridge Complaint for Filing
Investigators who tried to override the formulas by entering their real hours were penalized, the complaint alleged: CoventBridge would reduce the employee’s hourly surveillance rate when actual report or travel time was inputted, which discouraged accurate timekeeping. The complaint stated that CoventBridge eliminated the Billing Efficiency policy sometime after McSpirit notified the company of her claims.1Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP. Coventbridge Complaint for Filing
New York Wage Notice and Statement Claims
The lawsuit added claims that CoventBridge failed to pay manual workers within seven calendar days of the week wages were earned, as New York Labor Law requires. McSpirit also alleged the company did not provide the annual wage notices or accurate wage statements state law requires. The complaint sought statutory penalties of up to $50 per workday for missing wage notices and $250 per workday for inaccurate wage statements, each capped at $5,000 per employee.1Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP. Coventbridge Complaint for Filing
The Earlier Florida Case
A similar suit had already come and gone in Florida. Investigator Kyle Eggnatz sued CoventBridge (USA) Inc. in 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, No. 18-cv-61250, along with individual defendants David Merrill and Jim Francis. The complaint alleged unpaid overtime and wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act.5CourtListener. Kyle Eggnatz v. Coventbridge (USA) Inc.
Eggnatz asked the court to conditionally certify a nationwide collective of investigators in August 2018. Judge Robert N. Scola Jr. denied that motion in March 2019, which kept the case limited to Eggnatz’s individual claims. The parties then mediated and settled, and Judge Scola approved the FLSA settlement and dismissed the case with prejudice on April 15, 2019. The terms and amount were not publicly reported in the available court records.5CourtListener. Kyle Eggnatz v. Coventbridge (USA) Inc.
Who CoventBridge Is
CoventBridge Group is a global investigation firm headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, with over 1,000 employees and more than 700 state-licensed investigators.6CoventBridge. CoventBridge Solutions Package It provides outsourced fraud investigation, surveillance, and claims support to insurance carriers, government agencies, and healthcare organizations in more than 100 countries.7CoventBridge. CoventBridge Group The company was formed in March 2016 through the merger of ICS Merrill and GlobalOptions, with financial backing from London-based Harwood Capital.8PR Newswire. ICS Merrill and GlobalOptions Join Forces, Become CoventBridge Group