The need

Attorneys representing the class of plaintiffs in a class action against a nonprofit healthcare company needed an expert in uniform cleaning standards and practices to make their case. The suit alleged that the defendants violated the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and the D.C. Minimum Wage Act Revision Act of 1992 by requiring the plaintiffs to perform work during meal-breaks as well as uniform maintenance work without compensating them for the work or reimbursing them for cleaning expenses. As such, the ideal expert would need to be well versed in the standards and practices in the healthcare industry for cleaning and maintenance of work uniforms as well as the type of cleaning required to safely eliminate the presence of pathogens on a healthcare workers’ uniform.

Our approach

From conversations with the client, we understood that the expert request was urgent due to the timeline of the case as well as the likelihood that the ideal background would be a challenge to find. Challenge accepted; we went to work to find the best expert for the case.

The expert

We found an expert with over 30 years of experience in the laundry industry and specifically in the laundering of medical linens and uniforms. He was the President and Owner of a consulting firm focused on helping clients effectively optimize laundry cleaning for the healthcare industry. In his consulting work, he had worked with numerous healthcare facilities across the US and internationally to analyze their laundry operations and offer solutions to help them deliver clean, pathogen-free medical uniforms and linens. Well-respected in his field, he was a frequent speaker on the topic of effectively removing pathogens from medical garb, had authored compliance manuals on the subject, and was a member of the technical committee on textile and garment care processing. Finally, he had served as an expert witness on many litigations, including one where he was charged with speaking to the quality and cleanliness of hospital linens, and he had testified at trial and in deposition.