MIAMI — An American Shuttle Inc. driver recently filed a putative collective action against the company for alleged discrimination and overtime violations. Lazaro Martin, who has worked as a shuttle driver since 2009, filed the lawsuit on behalf of himself and other American Shuttle Inc. shuttle drivers who transport people to and from the Miami International Airport. The proposed class in the collective action includes drivers employed by American between April 2011 and April 2014 who chose to opt-in to the collective action.
The Shuttle Drivers’ Claim
In the lawsuit, Martin claims the company committed multiple violations against its drivers. Martin alleges American violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) when it failed to pay minimum wage. He also alleges that the company forced drivers to work off the clock and denied drivers overtime pay. Martin claims the company required the drivers to spend considerable time performing pre-trip vehicle inspections, pre-trip planning, cleaning, and mapping prior to their shifts without pay. The drivers were also allegedly required to clock-out after dropping off their last passenger and were not paid for their time refueling, doing paperwork, driving the shuttle back to the company parking lot, and doing maintenance. Additionally, Martin claims American discriminated against Hispanic drivers with excessive payroll deductions. In a separate claim addressing the discrimination, Martin alleges that the company retaliated against him for reporting the company’s actions.
Travel Time and Overtime
Generally, employers are not required to pay employees for the time they spend commuting. However, if the employee’s position requires traveling or it is the principal activity, like shuttle driving, employers are required to count the travel time as “hours worked.” Furthermore, time spent completing required tasks like maintenance and paperwork should normally, though not always, count as “hours worked.” Hours worked are the number of hours an employee works each week used in calculating overtime wages.
Retaliation
The FLSA, like other labor laws, prohibits employers, or anyone else, from retaliating against any employee who files a complaint for a potential violation, cooperates with an investigation, or who testifies in proceedings related to FLSA violations. It does not matter whether the complaint is made orally or in writing. And the protection includes retaliation in the form of termination, discrimination, and reduction in hours, benefits, or opportunities. If an employer is found to have retaliated because of an FLSA complaint, the employee could receive lost wages; could be compensated for other damages; or could be reinstated, if terminated in retaliation.
If you believe you are owed overtime wages or your employer has retaliated because of a complaint over wages, contact our experienced overtime lawyers today. Call (855) 754-2795 or complete the Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form and our knowledgeable team of overtime pay lawyers will evaluate your situation. If you are owed overtime wages and we accept your case, we will represent you under our No Fee Promise, which means there are never any legal fees or costs unless you receive a settlement.