On Monday, Edward Castro filed a class action lawsuit in the Eastern District of New York against Hempstead Poultry, LLC, Hempstead Poultry Farms, Inc. and Jorge Perez alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law.
According to the complaint, Jorge Perez is the owner and president of Hempstead Poultry, LLC and Hempstead Poultry Farms, Inc., which are both businesses organized under the laws of New York with a principal place of business in Hempstead, New York.
The complaint further states that Edward Castro is a resident of Suffolk County, New York and has been employed by the defendants as a chicken cutter since November 24, 2019. Castro states during his employment he was paid a fixed salary in cash on a weekly basis. Castro alleges that during his employment he worked the same schedule; Tuesday through Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and on Sundays from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., for a total of 61.5 hours per week.
The plaintiff further alleges that his fixed salary during employment varied from $420 per week to $650 per week, but he was never paid overtime wages during his employment with the defendants. Castro argues that he was not paid overtime wages nor the required minimum wage because the defendants improperly classified him as an exempt worker. He argues that he does not qualify as an exempt employee under the FLSA or the New York Labor Law.
The complaint states that many of the defendant’s other employees have also been misclassified as exempt and have not received the proper minimum wage or overtime compensation. The complaint also alleges that the class of plaintiffs never received wage statements with their weekly cash wages in violation of the New York Labor Law. Castro alleges that the defendants were well aware that the plaintiffs did not qualify as exempt employees and their violations of the FLSA and New York Labor Law were willful.
The plaintiff seeks certification of the class members, declaratory and injunctive relief, an award of unpaid wages with pre- and post-judgment interest, liquidated damages, attorneys fees and costs for the defendant’s violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York labor Law. The plaintiff is represented by the Lee Litigation Group, PLLC.
