Settlement of overtime cases in Maryland under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act cannot be secret. In Carpenter v. Colonial Management Group, the Maryland federal court denied a motion to file an overtime settlement agreement under seal, meaning that the document would not be available for the public to see. The Court, for its reasons, stated:
First is the general public interest in the content of documents upon which a court’s decision is based, including a determination of whether to approve a settlement. Second is the "private-public character" of employee rights under the FLSA, whereby the public has an independent interest in assuring that employees wages are fair and thus do not endanger 'the national health and wellbeing.'
Judge Bredar of the Maryland federal court stated that "concerns with 'negative publicity or attention' clearly do not outweigh the strong public interest in access to FLSA settlement agreements." This is welcome news for employees, since more workers will learn about their rights for overtime wages in Maryland.
