R. Kelly Sued For Unpaid Overtime Wages

R&B singer R. Kelly, whose real name is Robert Kelly, was sued by a former employee for allegedly unpaid overtime, Fox Chicago reported. Anthony Navarro, was hired as a "runner" by R. Kelly's Bass Productions Ltd., claims violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Illinois Minimum Wage Law.

The two-count suit seeks compensatory damages for overtime hours he claims were unfairly compensated and the cost of his Illinois employment lawyer. He also claims other tour employees also were not adequately paid, but it's unclear whether or not they also have filed suit.

Anthony Navarro said he …

http://chicagoemploymentattorneysblog.com/2010/07/r-kelly-sued-for-unpaid-overtime-wages.html

 

 

LJWorld: Employees share wage theft stories at worker justice clinic

Low-wage and immigrant workers in Lawrence gathered to take part in a Worker's rights justice meeting. Some local workers claim they have been the victims of unfair treatment in the workplace.

But lower-wage — and particularly immigrant — workers don’t always get paid for all the work they do in our community.

It’s called “wage theft,” and several area workers who have experienced it shared their stories Saturday at the first Lawrence Worker Justice Coalition meeting at Plymouth Congregational Church, 925 Vt.

Juan Miguel Turcios, an undocumented immigrant from Honduras, gave one example of how businesses in Lawrence treat such workers unfairly. Turcios, who has been in the United States four years, said he was recently hurt on the job. That injury led to an infection and a $4,000 hospital visit — an expense his employer won’t pay, and one he can’t.

It’s a story that’s becoming more and more…

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2010/jul/11/employees-share-wage-theft-stories-worker-justice-/?business

 

WhistleblowersBlog: Workers blow whistle on Moe Hamdan's wage theft

Moe Hamdan owns the upscale Washington restaurant called The Reserve on L St. NW.  Instead of using the restaurant's income to pay the workers' wages, he used it for his own lavish lifestyle. Some workers went six months without being paid what they are owed.  "I worked really hard as a bar boy at this restaurant," says former Reserve employee Luis Ducas, "and the owner refuses to pay me my back wages." D.C. Jobs with Justice's Arturo Griffiths says Hamdan owes workers over $25,000 in unpaid wages. Hamdan "has no intentions of paying his workers or even meeting with them" a former manager told Boaz Young-El, an AFL-CIO Union Summer intern. "He is…

 

http://www.whistleblowersblog.org/2010/07/articles/corporate-1/workers-blow-whistle-on-moe-hamdans-wage-theft/

 

Rural Migrant News: Weeding out Abuses

A 13-page June 2010 report outlined abuses allegedly suffered by farm workers, including wage theft, sexual harassment, and inferior and dangerous housing for its workers. The report calls on DOL to hold especially repeat offending farm employers responsible for violations of federal labor laws that aim to protect hired workers.

The report notes that at least half of US crop workers are unauthorized, and that their unauthorized status as well as lack of English and ignorance of US labor laws makes them vulnerable to abuse. The report concluded that DOL has a "very poor" record of labor law enforcement to protect farm workers; the report says that 110 of the 21,375 investigations of Fair Labor Standards Act in FY08 were in agriculture. There were 1,500 investigations under the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, and the average civil money penalty for MSPA violations between 2002 and 2008 was $342, a third of the maximum penalty.

The report says that there is a race to the bottom in agriculture, as some employers violate labor, immigration and tax laws to reduce costs and encourage others to follow suit to remain competitive. It cites the growing use of farm labor contractors, and calls for farm employers to be jointly liable for labor law violations with the FLCs who bring workers to their farms….

http://migration.ucdavis.edu/rmn/more.php?id=1558_0_6_0

 

StevenspointJournal: Ex-county worker sues for overtime

An administrative assistant  to former Portage County Executive Mark Maslowski alleges she is owed $43,000 in unpaid overtime compensation, according to a suit filed Friday in federal court.

 

Heidi Born-Smith, of Rudolph, contends she worked 1,560 overtime hours between June 2006 and April 2010 for Maslowski, but her paycheck never reflected any compensation in addition to her annual $38,266 salary.

 

Maslowski lost his re-election bid in April to Patty Dreier.

 

According to the complaint, Born-Smith worked largely as a secretary for Maslowski. She served as a receptionist answering phone calls, maintaining files and coordinating meetings and appointments. Although the Federal Labor Standards Act and the Wisconsin Wage Payment Law exempt some employees from overtime pay requirements, none of the exemptions apply to Born-Smith.

http://www.stevenspointjournal.com/article/20100707/SPJ0101/7070672/Ex-county-worker-sues-for-overtime

 

MiamiHerald: Miami-Dade immigrant workers get help when bosses refuse to pay

Almost every morning Alberto Pérez stands on South Florida street corners looking for work -- one of thousands of day laborers hired to pick crops, fix roofs, cut grass or clean houses.

These laborers depend on quick payments to feed themselves, pay rent or send money to families in their home countries. But often the people who hire them don't pay.

Pérez, a 26-year-old immigrant from Guatemala who four weeks ago was hired to landscape gardens at homes around South Miami-Dade, said he was promised $100 per day. Instead, he said, he got only $50 to $75 per day. After help from an activist group, he recouped some of the remaining money that was promised.

Pérez's story is not unique, but has become almost normal for day laborers, particularly those who are undocumented immigrants.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/05/1716740/miami-dade-immigrant-workers-get.html#ixzz0t0ThLZpA

 

Faith in Public Life: Combating Wage Theft

Since President Obama's election, the Department of Labor has been strengthening efforts to protect workers' rights and enforce labor laws after eight years of neglect by the previous administration.

 

As part of this renewed commitment, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis has introduced a new campaign entitled "We Can Help" to fight wage theft-- a shameful but not uncommon practice in which employers pay workers less then they're owed, force them to work overtime without appropriate compensation, or falsely classify them as independent contractors to avoid payroll taxes.

 

Along with the injustice faced by individual workers, wage theft creates systemic problems in the labor market that hurt all workers. This fosters a "race to the bottom" that punishes employers who follow the law.

 

In addition to the DOL's outreach program to help workers prevent and report wage theft, our friends at Interfaith Worker Justice have launched an online resource center at www.wagetheft.org.

 

IWJ president Kim Bobo was on The Ed Show this week and did a great job explaining the problem and what workers can do: