A lawsuit by a former employee of defense manufacturer Gentex Corporation in Carbondale claims the firm failed to pay wages for time required daily to clock in-and-out of work.

Todd Boyles of Carbondale filed the civil action April 30 in Lackawanna County Court as a potential class-action lawsuit under the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act.

A judge would have to certify the lawsuit as a class action open to other employees to join as co-plaintiff members of the affected class of workers.

Details and claims in the lawsuit include:

• A potential member of the class would be anyone who worked at Gentex during any time since April 29, 2022, and earned an hourly wage. The class period going back to that date is based upon a four-year statute of limitations for seeking unjust-enrichment damages.

• Boyles worked at Gentex as an hourly employee from approximately November of 2023 until May of 2024.

• Potential class members, whether paid by Gentex or third-party staffing agencies, are required to clock-in and clock-out at timekeeping devices.

• These employees are paid based on scheduled start and end times applicable to their work shifts. They are required to ‘badge in’ at an entrance, walk a long distance to their time clocks, wait in line at those clocks, and then walk to assigned job stations. At the end of a shift, they have to walk back to time clocks, wait in line again to clock out, and then walk to the exit and ‘badge out.’ They do not receive any wages for time associated with such clocking in-and-out activities.

• The number of potential class members and amount of monetary damages are not stated, but they are readily attainable and calculable from standard employment records.

The complaint’s two counts cite unjust enrichment and the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Law, which holds that employees must be paid for all time they are required to be on the premises, regardless of whether they are actually performing job-related duties while on the premises, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit claims Gentex violated the PMWL by failing to pay Boyles and others wages, including overtime, “for time associated with pre-shift and post-shift activities.”

The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages, interest, costs and attorney’s fees. Boyles is represented by the Winebrake & Santillo law firm of Dresher. Gentex has not yet filed in court a reply to the lawsuit. Efforts were unsuccessful Friday to reach Gentex about the lawsuit.

Headquartered in Zeeland, Michigan, Gentex at 324 Main St. in Carbondale dates to 1894, when it started as a Klots Throwing Company silk mill that relocated from New York after a fire there.

“Klots’ bookkeeper, Marcus Frieder, suggested rebuilding the company’s production facility in Carbondale, PA, to engage an untapped workforce — the wives and daughters of local coal miners,” according to the Gentex website.

Over decades, its products evolved to include: 1914, silk cartridge bags and high performance textiles; 1941, cargo parachutes and containers; 1948, hard shell helmets; 1960, aluminized textiles; 1969, respiratory systems and helmet mounted sights and display integration; 1970, precision polycarbonate lenses; 1977, microphones; 1980, ballistic protection and laser eye protection; 1985, chemical and biological protective fabrics; 1999, vehicle intercom systems; 2005, advanced helmet vision systems; 2006, chemical, biological radiological nuclear masks; 2008, advanced laser eye protection; 2011, integrated ground helmet systems; 2014, international market expansion; 2015, hearing protection and communications; 2021, filter manufacturing and partnership with Stanley Black & Decker DEWALT brand for use with industrial respiratory products; 2022, RAILINK powered and data-enabled ARC rails; and 2024, PURSUIT next generation fixed wing helmet.

“Since 1894, Gentex Corporation has provided the most advanced products for global defense forces, emergency responders and industrial personnel operating in high performance environments,” the website says.