Heidi Burakiewicz joined the Washington, D.C. office of Mehri & Skalet, PLLC in 2010. She focuses her practice primarily on cases brought pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and state wage and hour laws on behalf of employees who are required to perform work off-the-clock without compensation or who have been incorrectly told by their employers that they are exempt and are not entitled to time and one-half overtime compensation for working in excess of forty hours in a week. She is currently handling several cases brought pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) on behalf of employees seeking unpaid wages and overtime compensation.
Since graduating from American University, Washington College of Law in 2000, Ms. Burakiewicz has represented employees and unions in collective/class action and multi-plaintiff suits before various federal courts as well as in arbitration. Of particular significance, she has collected over $20 million dollars in backpay and liquidated damages from the United States government on behalf of employees who were required to perform work off-the-clock during their uncompensated meal breaks or who were required to perform work before and/or after their scheduled shifts such as picking-up equipment and walking to their job sites. Ms. Burakiewicz has also successfully handled cases against employers for violating free speech and association rights protected by the U.S. Constitution, including a case in which she successfully argued an appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and for subjecting employees to sexual harassment and discrimination on the bases of race, sex, and disability.
