Date of the action: April 3, 2023
Type of action: Complaint:
Names of the accused: EM Private Police Inc .; its successor Virtual Surveillance and Private Police LLC; Israel Martínez Gutiérrez, individually, Carmen Hernandez Rosa, individually; and Daniel Vargas, individually.
Background: The Department of Labor has filed a complaint regarding the Fair Labor Standards Act at the US District Court. USA for the District of Puerto Rico in search of back wages and damages of two security companies and their management personnel, after an investigation by the Hours and Wages Division. The Department will also be imposing monetary civil penalties.
The investigation team discovered that EM Police and Surveillance illegally classified more than 300 security guards as independent contractors, although the company exercised considerable control over key aspects of the guards' work, including setting staff hours and locations, and prohibiting them from making personal calls while on duty.
EM Police and Surveillance also paid guards per hour, often no more than Puerto Rico's minimum wage. In many cases, staff paid their staff the same fee for all hours worked, including hours above 40 hours in a week, which violated the FLSA provision on overtime.
The complaint states that the company also carried out various strategies to cover its overtime violations, including providing the research team with payrolls and schedule records for specific staff and periods. When the Hours and Wages Division began investigating, EM Police closed and transferred its businesses to Vigilancia, apparently to avoid liability under FLSA.
The division's Caribbean District Office carried out the investigation. Senior litigation attorney Jacob Heyman-Kantor of the New York Attorney's Regional Office is litigating the case for the department.
Learn more about the Hours and Wages Division, including one search tool What you can use if you think the division owes you back wages, or call the Caribbean District Office at 787-775-1947. Businesses and employees can call the division confidentially to ask questions no matter where they come from. The department can speak to people who want to call confidentially in more than 200 languages through the agency's free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE ( 487-9243). ( 487-9243 ). Download the new one Timesheet application from the agency for IOS and Android devices ( also available in Spanish ) to ensure that hours worked and remuneration are accurate.
Court: US District Court. USA for the District of Puerto Rico
File number: Civil lawsuit n °. 3: 23-cv-1159
Quotes: "Businesses should know that the US Department of Labor. USA takes the wrong classification of staff as independent contractors very seriously, "said Regional Labor Attorney Jeffrey S. Rogoff in New York. "We will not tolerate any attempt to avoid complying with the law and we will litigate firmly to ensure that staff receive the wages owed to them".
"EM Police and Surveillance wrongly believed they could ignore the law that protects staff rights to receive full and legally earned wages when they illegally classified most guards security as independent contractors to its staff. "said the District Director of the Hours and Wages Division, Jose Vazquez-Fernandez in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
Original source can be found here