LEGAL NEWSLINE

NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced a settlement Thursday with National Grid, a multi-state utility company, to resolve allegations that it failed to properly pay its New York workers after Hurricane Sandy.

During a period of 19 weeks following the storm, National Grid allegedly failed to give more than 6,500 hourly employees their full pay on time after converting to a new computer system. Following the storm, National Grid employees worked significantly expanded hours, but allegedly went underpaid or not paid at all.

"Some of the affected employees in this case reported that they were unable to repair their own homes after the storm because of National Grid's underpayments," Schneiderman said. "National Grid's workers will receive some compensation - and an explanation - for the financial hardship they endured in the aftermath of the storm."

Under the terms of the agreement, National Grid must pay previously unpaid wages and an additional $750 to every hourly employee who worked for the company between November 1 and March 31, for a total of more than $4.8 million.

National Grid must also provide an accounting to employees summarizing unpaid and underpaid wages and explaining the date and manner in which payment problems were fixed. The company must also provide Schneiderman's office with a report summarizing the causes of payroll failures, a description of steps taken to fix the problem, a summary of lessons learned and a description of measures the company will take to prevent problems in the future.