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Company owner insists claims vs his company defective
The owner of a security company who is being sued in federal court by 14 former guards who alleged that they paid a total of $130,262 in recruitment fees in exchange for jobs and green cards now insists that he is not covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act because his company is a small business.
Md. Nurul Islam Bhuiyan said his company, Island Protection Service, that he formed in 2008 does not have gross sales of $500,000 a year. That means the U.S. District Court for the NMI does not have jurisdiction over the FLSA claims raised by his former employees.
Janet H. King, counsel for Bhuiyan, asserted that to qualify for coverage under the FLSA, Island Protection Services must have annual sales of $500,000 or more.
In a motion for summary judgment, King said Island Protection Services also does not engage in commerce and is not covered by the FLSA.
In his declaration in court, Bhuiyan belied the plaintiffs’ allegation that he has annual gross revenues in excess of $500,000
The plaintiffs are suing Bhuiyan and his company for allegedly not paying them the minimum wage and overtime and charging them with immigration filing fees. The security guards are claiming unpaid wages and overtime compensation in an amount ranging from $3,355 to $21,593, for a total of $214,505.
The 14 plaintiffs are Shomon Ullah Monshi, Syful Islam, Nasir Uddin, Mohammed M. Billah, Addullah Al Mamun, Abdullah Al Mahamud, MD Rabi Ullah, Maksudur Rahman, Amir Rasool, Hemayet Hossen, MD Shahidul Islam, Billah Hossen Sarkar, Khirul Basher, and MD Solaiman Munshi.
