Frequently Asked Questions

Here are answers to frequently asked questions about the case. Detailed information about the settlement is contained in the Notice and Settlement Agreement.

If you do not find an answer to your question here, please contact us directly.

BASIC INFORMATION

You received this Notice because the records of Defendant Thistle Health, Inc. (“Thistle” or “Defendant”), indicate that you are a Settlement Class Member because you were a current and former worker who was employed by Defendant as an independent contractor at its Burlington, New Jersey, production facility between October 17, 2022, and March 31, 2025 (“Settlement Class” or “Settlement Class Members*”).

The Notice of Class Action Settlement (“Notice”) explains your right to share in the monetary proceeds of this Settlement, exclude yourself (“opt-out”) of the Settlement, or object to the Settlement. On October 23, 2026, the Superior Court of New Jersey granted preliminary approval of the Settlement as fair and reasonable. The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing on February 4, 2027, at 9:00 a.m., before Judge R. Brian McLaughlin, J.S.C. in Courtroom 3E at the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer County Civil Courthouse, 175 S Broad St, 3rd Floor, Trenton NJ 08650.

* Excluded from the Settlement Class are any individuals who as of the date Preliminary Approval was granted were engaged in individual litigation covering the same claims to be released in this Settlement.

Plaintiff Michael McMurray (“Plaintiff”) alleges he and the Settlement Class Members were misclassified as independent contractors and were not paid all wages owed, including overtime wages, in violation of the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law, N.J.S.A. §§ 34:11-56a, et seq. (“NJWHL”) and the New Jersey Wage Payment Law N.J.S.A §§ 34:11-4.1, et seq. (“NJWPL”). Specifically, Plaintiff filed a Class Action Complaint alleging that he and other Settlement Class Members were not paid overtime premium wages when they worked over forty (40) hours a week, and that Defendant failed to pay for all time worked including the time Settlement Class Members spent putting on and taking off required personal protective equipment. Plaintiff also alleged Defendant improperly deducted certain fees from his and the Settlement Class Members’ pay statements. Defendant denies the allegations made by Plaintiff in the Action and denies that it is liable to or owes damages to Plaintiff or the Settlement Class Members with respect to the alleged facts or causes of action asserted in the Action.

The Parties elected to participate in mediation and attempt to resolve the claims in the Lawsuit. The Parties participated in an arms-length mediation of this matter, which included two mediation sessions in February and March 2026, overseen by experienced wage-and-hour mediator Stephen Sonnenberg, and reached an agreement to settle the Lawsuit.

The Court did not decide in favor of the Plaintiff or Defendant. Instead, both sides agreed to this settlement.

Under the terms of the Settlement Agreement, Defendant agreed to pay $430,000.00 (“Gross Settlement Amount”), to settle the claims asserted in the Lawsuit.

Subject to Court approval, deductions from the Gross Settlement Amount will be made for: (a) Class Counsel’s attorneys’ fees in an amount of up to one-third (1/3) of the Gross Settlement Amount; (b) reimbursement of Class Counsel’s out-of-pocket costs incurred in prosecuting this Action; (c) the Settlement Administrator’s fees and costs of not more than $11,000.00; and (d) a service award in the amount of $5,000.00 to Plaintiff for his time and services on behalf of the Class Members. After subtracting the above amounts, the balance of the funds (the “Net Settlement Amount”) will be distributed by the Settlement Administrator to the Settlement Class Members who do not opt out of the settlement (the “Eligible Settlement Class Members”).

Your Settlement Award will be calculated based on the payroll data that will be supplied by Defendant to the Settlement Administrator pursuant to the Settlement Agreement, and you do not have to submit a Claim Form or take any other action in order to receive your Settlement Payment. You will automatically receive a Settlement Payment unless you decide to opt out of the settlement.

Following final approval of the Settlement by the Court, Settlement Awards will be distributed as settlement checks to Eligible Settlement Class Members, who will then have 180 days in which to deposit or cash their checks. If at the conclusion of that check cashing period, there are any monies remaining as a result of uncashed settlement checks attributable to the Settlement Class, those funds will be redistributed pro rata to the Settlement Class Members who cashed their first check, if practicable in light of the amount of uncashed funds remaining and the costs of a second distribution. If a second distribution is not practicable, then the remaining amounts from uncashed settlement checks will be distributed to the cy pres recipient, Legal Services of New Jersey, subject to approval by the Court.

Settlement Class Members’ individual settlement payments are determined as follows:

  • Every Settlement Class Member who does not exclude themselves from the Settlement (“Eligible Class Member”) will receive a base payment of $10.
  • In addition, every Eligible Class Member will receive a pro rata share of the remaining amount of the Net Settlement Amount based upon Defendant’s time records reflecting actual shifts and hours worked.

Your actual amount will be calculated based on the number of individuals who do not opt out of the settlement and may exceed this amount. If your Settlement Award exceeds the IRS reporting threshold (currently $2,000), you will receive an IRS Form 1099. It is your own responsibility to determine the amount of taxes that you will owe on your settlement payment.

Please remember that the above settlement payments will be made only if the Court approves the Settlement as fair and reasonable.

If the Court approves the Settlement, you will automatically be entitled to receive a Settlement payment.

If your address at the top of the Notice is not correct, please email the Settlement Administrator at ThistleOTWageSettlement@noticeadministrator.com, with your Claim Number (if you have it), your old address, and your new address.

It is your responsibility to keep a current address on file with the Settlement Administrator to ensure receipt of your Settlement Award check from the Settlement Administrator. If you fail to keep your address current, you may not receive your Settlement Award.

If you do not exclude yourself from the settlement by following the procedures in Section 7, you will release and discharge all Released Parties, finally, forever and with prejudice, from any and all wage and hour claims, obligations, demands, actions, rights, causes of action and liabilities, against the Released Parties that were asserted in Plaintiff’s Complaint, from October 17, 2022 through March 31, 2025.

  • Do Nothing: If you do nothing and the Court grants final approval to the Settlement, you will automatically receive a Settlement You will release your claims as provided for in FAQ 6 above.
  • Opt Out: If you do not wish to be bound by the class action release above, you must mail or email to the Settlement Administrator a written statement indicating that you do not wish to participate or be bound by the Settlement. The written request for exclusion must contain your full name, address, telephone number, email address, and last four digits of their social security number, and must be signed individually by the Settlement Class Member. No opt-out request may be made on behalf of a group. The opt-out request must be sent by mail to the Settlement Administrator at McMurray v. Thistle Health, c/o Analytics Consulting LLC, PO Box 2002, Chanhassen, MN 55317-2002, or by email at ThistleOTWageSettlement@noticeadministrator.com, postmarked or received (if email is used) by December 21, 2026. If you opt-out and the Settlement is approved, your claims, if any, in the Lawsuit will be dismissed without prejudice and will not be further pursued through the Lawsuit, which will otherwise be dismissed with prejudice. Any person who requests exclusion (opts out) of the settlement will not be entitled to any Settlement Award and will not be bound by the Settlement Agreement or have any right to object, appeal, or comment thereon.
  • Object: If you wish to object to the Settlement, you must mail a written statement to the Settlement Administrator objecting to the Settlement. The objection must be signed personally by you, and must include your name, address, telephone number, email address, and the factual and legal grounds for your objection. Any objection must be sent by mail to the Settlement Administrator at McMurray v. Thistle Health, c/o Analytics Consulting LLC, PO Box 2002, Chanhassen, MN 55317-2002, postmarked by December 21, 2026. If you submit a written objection, you may also, if you wish, appear at the Final Approval Hearing to discuss your objection with the Court and the Parties to the Lawsuit. Your written objection must state whether you will attend the Final Approval Hearing. Objections shall only be considered if the Settlement Class Member has not opted out of the Settlement. No Settlement Class Member shall be heard at the Final Approval Hearing (whether individually or through counsel), unless written notice of the person’s intention to appear at the Final Approval Hearing has been mailed to the Settlement Administrator on or before December 21, 2026. If you wish to object to the Settlement but fail to return your timely written objection in the manner specified above, you shall be deemed to have waived any objection and shall be foreclosed from making any objection (whether by appeal or otherwise) to the Settlement. The postmark date shall be the exclusive means for determining that an objection is timely.

Plaintiff along with the Settlement Class Members are represented by the following attorneys:

Alexandra K. Piazza
BERGER MONTAGUE PC
8241 La Mesa Blvd, Suite A
La Mesa, CA 91942
Tel: 215-875-3063
apiazza@bergermontague.com

Michael J. Anderson
BERGER MONTAGUE PC
1818 Market Street, Suite 3600
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Tel: 215-875-3033
manderson@bergermontague.com

Ryan Warden
WARDEN LAW LLC
923 Haddonfield Road, Suite 300
Cherry Hill, NJ 08002
Tel: 856-324-8266
ryan.warden@wardenlawyers.com

You do not need to hire your own lawyer. Counsel has been appointed to represent the class. However, you are welcome to hire your own lawyer at your own expense. If you hire a lawyer to speak for you or to appear in Court, your lawyer must file a Notice of Appearance with the Court.

Class Counsel will be paid their attorneys’ fees and costs from the Gross Settlement Amount. You do not have to pay the attorneys who represent the Settlement Class Members. The Settlement Agreement provides that Class Counsel will receive attorneys’ fees in the amount of up to one-third (1/3) of the Gross Settlement Amount, plus reimbursement of their out-of-pocket costs incurred to prosecute this Action. Class Counsel will file a Motion for Attorneys’ Fees and Costs with the Court, which the Court will consider at the Final Approval Hearing.

The Judge will hold a final approval hearing to decide whether to approve the settlement. You are not required or expected to attend that hearing to receive your Settlement Award, but you are welcome to attend.

During the final approval hearing, the Court will consider whether the payments to the Settlement Class Members are fair and reasonable and should be approved. The Court will also consider the fairness and reasonableness of the requested attorneys’ fees, out-of-pocket expenses, and Service Award. In making this decision, the Court will consider any written objections to the settlement and will hear from any individuals (or their legal representatives) who wish to be heard and who file written objections in the timeframe required as set forth in Section 7 above.

The hearing will take place on February 4, 2027, at 9:00 a.m. in Courtroom 3E of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer County, located at Mercer County Civil Courthouse, 175 S Broad St, 3rd Floor, Trenton NJ 08650. The Court may change the hearing date/time without further notice.

If you need more information or have any questions, you may contact the Settlement Administrator using the information below or any of Class Counsel listed above.

McMurray v. Thistle Health, Inc.
c/o Analytics Consulting LLC
PO Box 2002
Chanhassen, MN 55317-2002
Email: ThistleOTWageSettlement@noticeadministrator.com
Toll-free phone: 888-354-4829

The Notice is only a summary. For more detailed information, you may review the Settlement Agreement, containing the complete terms of the proposed Settlement, which is available here, from the Settlement Administrator or Class Counsel, and publicly accessible and on file with the Court.

PLEASE DO NOT WRITE OR TELEPHONE THE COURT OR DEFENDANT FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED SETTLEMENT.