Florida residents may have read about a case that followed hundreds of tenants' complaints against a landlord who is the owner of almost 150 apartment buildings in another state. Along with facing multiple felony charges related to the manner in which he handled the finances of his properties, he is now also being sued by a former employee. A man who claims to have been managing 11 of the landlord's buildings has filed a lawsuit alleging wage and hour law violations for unpaid overtime. The man says he was never paid any overtime wages over the almost 10 years in which his workweeks covered an average of 81 hours per week.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff was on-call permanently and had to respond to the needs of tenants in all 11 complexes under his supervision. He contends his workdays typically started at 5 a.m. -- including Saturdays and Sundays. The superintendent alleges he is owed thousands of dollars in unpaid overtime.
The plaintiff further alleges his employer expected him to use personal funds to pay for job-related requirements. Court documents indicate that essential tools required to do the job had to be purchased and paid for by the plaintiff. Also, he asserts that he had to pay the wages of laborers and porters on occasions.
Florida employees who believe they are the victims of wage and hour law violations are entitled to pursue recovery of damages. Any person who works more than 40 hours per week has the right to be paid overtime, and an employer's failure to comply is illegal. With the support of a seasoned employment law attorney to advocate on behalf of the worker, financial and other losses sustained due to unpaid overtime may be recovered.
Source: therealdeal.com, "Ex-superintendent sues embattled landlord Steve Croman over allegedly unpaid wages", Miriam Hall, Oct. 7, 2016