Wage and Hour Lawsuits - Legal Services Groups Filing Overtime Claims
The latest news trend has been to report that wage & hour claims are the new "in" lawsuit filed by employment attorneys. However, the cost of bringing such a lawsuit may still be onerous for some employees.
That's where the state's legal services organizations routinely fill the gap by offering their services free to people in need of an attorney. Two new federal lawsuits filed on the same day last week by two different legal services groups in the state, show that these groups are not afraid to tackle employment issues and are doing so with increased frequency.
(As always, readers are cautioned that the complaints contain mere allegations, not proven facts.)
In Morales v. Cancun Charlie's Restaurant, the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services represents a kitchen worker for a popular Milford restaurant. (The Jerome N. Frank Legal Services organization is run by the Yale Law School.) The Complaint alleges that the employee regularly worked over 100 hours per week and did not receive overtime. The Complaint also alleges that he did not receive the appropriate minimum wage. No response has yet been filed.
This is not a one-time gig for the Yale Law School legal services group. For example, last month, the group brought a nearly identical claim against another Connecticut restaurant, the Mianus River Tavern, on behalf of two workers. Although the restaurant closed earlier this year, the Complaint alleged that these two workers did not receive any overtime for their work over the years.
The Complaint in Godoy v. D&S Remodeling, LLC contains very similiar allegations as well and was also filed last week. Brought by Connecticut Legal Services , on behalf of 12 employees, the lawsuit alleges that these laborers for a construction company did not receive their wages as promised by the employer. The complaint also alleges that overtime and minimum wages were not paid for these individuals at various times. No response by the employer has been filed yet either.
Will the employers raise as a defense the possible undocumented status of the employees? (The Complaints are silent as to whether these workers were authorized to work -- though no inference should be drawn on this without additional facts.) The law on this is far from resolved. In 2002, the Supreme Court in Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. NLRB (U.S., No. 00-1595, 3/27/02), determined that the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") could not award backpay to undocumented aliens for violation of the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA") But the Department of Labor and other groups have suggested the the law is different for violations of federal discrimination laws and the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA").
In any event, these new lawsuits should continue to serve as a cautionary tale for service industry companies in Connecticut such as restaurants and constructuion companies. The overtime laws are, what they say they are. Ensuring strict complaince with the law will remove lots of headaches down the road. Keep good records, treat employees fairly and fix past mistakes where necessary.
While lawsuits involving the Legal Services groups may not "feel" like the typical employee-side attorney, they have the resources and the energy to ensure that these cases proceed like an ordinary lawsuit. These lawsuits should not be taken lightly.
