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Guest workers sue employer over unpaid overtime
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Posted on Aug 04 2000
Two nonresident workers from Bangladesh yesterday sued their employer in the U.S. District Court for alleged non-payment of overtime wages and breach of contract on the terms of their employment.
Atiqur Rahman and Habibur Rahman are now seeking payment of back wages, reimbursements for other expenses as well as compensatory, punitive and general damages for what they claimed as violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
The two used to work as cargo handlers for Kay’s Express Cargo, from October 1997 until their termination on January 30, 2000, according to court documents filed by their lawyer Stephen J. Nutting.
They said in their complaint that their contract specified a 40-hour work per week, but ended up working 12 hours a day, seven days per week, without being compensated for overtime at a rate one and a half higher than their minimum wage of $3.05.
They also said they were being “routinely” called to work in the late evening and early morning hours to deliver cargo for shipment at the airport to coincide with incoming and departing flights.
“As a result, the plaintiffs regularly and routinely worked in excess of 84 hours per week,” the complaint stated.
Both workers claimed that in their contract, Kay would provide them free housing and medical insurance, but they paid $50 a month for housing and shouldered their own medical expenses.
The company also violated federal labor laws when it failed to “make, keep and preserve the records of its employees and of the wages, hours and other conditions” of their employment, they said in the complaint.
The two Rahmans said the amount they will be seeking will be determined and proven during the trial.
