Legal Question in Employment Law in New York

Wrongful termination and overtime

I was fired because i had an accident with the company's car (i work for a limousine company). It was a small accident with no injuries. Other people in the company had accidents bigger than mine, and more than once, and were not fired. The real reason I was fired is because I was asking the company to pay me overtime, which they never did. I used to work 14 hours a day, 5 days a week, and never got any money in overtime, so they used the accident as an excuse. Do i have a case?


Asked on 9/05/02, 11:08 am

3 Answers from Attorneys

Thomas Luz Pearce & Luz LLP

Re: Wrongful termination and overtime

Maybe.

It depends on whether you were classified as an "exempt" or "non-exempt" employee and whether that classification was correct.

"Exempt" employees don't get overtime.

"Non-exempt" employees do.

If you're "non-exempt" the employer is probably liable for your overtime. As to the termination, I'm not aware of any rule prohibiting an employer from terminating an employee for demanding overtime pay. In other words, the employer may retaliate for anything it wants to (except assertion of rights under the civil rights laws or whistleblowing in the case of an immediate danger to public health).

If the amount of overtime pay is significant and you're not a manager or its equivalent, it's probably worth a lawsuit.

Good luck.

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Answered on 9/05/02, 12:14 pm
Jeffrey S. Eisenberg Jeffrey S. Eisenberg, Attorney at Law

Re: Wrongful termination and overtime

New York generally does not recognize a claim for wrongful termination. However, you may have a case under New York Labor Law for unpaid wages (overtime). However, there are many questions that must be answered in order to point you in the right direction. For example, were you discriminated against in other ways (i.e. age, race, etc.)? Were you paid an hourly wage? Did you rent the vehicles and pay gas, tolls, etc. and keep the fares collected? If you are unwilling to pay an attorney you may be able to have the Department of Labor or another governmental agency (EEOC, etc.) assist you in this regard.

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Answered on 9/05/02, 12:20 pm
Brendan Chao Brendan Chao - Attorney & Counselor at Law

Re: Wrongful termination and overtime

From what little you have stated thus far, you appear to have a Fair Labor Standards Act claim (you are entitled to overtime if you work more than 40 hours a week). I assume that you were a limo driver with little discretion in conducting your job. In order for a retaliation claim (for termination when you inquired about overtime) to stand you must have filed a formal complaint regarding your employer's failure to pay overtime.

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Answered on 9/05/02, 4:26 pm


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