A former employee has filed a claim against an emergency medical services company, Infinity EMS, in the Southern District of Texas for failing to pay overtime wages.
Recartor Patterson filed the lawsuit against Infinity on November 12, 2015 alleging the company violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). FLSA requires employers to pay their full time employees overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time and on-half their regular rates of pay. However, independent contractors are not considered employees and thus are not covered by FLSA. According to Patterson, during his employment, he worked more than 40 hours for one or more work weeks and was paid on an independent contractor rather than an employee basis. Therefore, Patterson alleges the defendant did not properly pay his overtime hours.
Misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor is not only illegal, but may result in hefty IRS fines and as evidenced by this case, a potential lawsuit.
If you have any questions or would like our firm to review your company’s payroll policies, please contact Stephens Reed & Armstrong, PLLC here.
