TAMPA – A Hillsborough County man alleges he was misclassified as an independent contractor during his employment with a janitorial services company.
Ricky Villanueva filed a complaint on Jan. 24 in the Tampa Division for the Middle District of Florida against Tavares Janitorial Services Inc. and Egue Tavares alleging violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that between 2010 and 2015, plaintiff was an employee and worked solely for Tavares Janitorial Services Inc. but was misclassified as an independent contractor. He alleges he worked for the defendant in excess of 40 hours within a work week and should be compensated at a rate of one-and-one-half times his regular hourly rate. The plaintiff holds Tavares Janitorial Services Inc. and Tavares responsible because the defendant allegedly failed to pay overtime premiums for all the overtime hours, and showed reckless disregard for the provisions of the FLSA and Internal Revenue Code for not withholding taxes from the plaintiff’s earnings.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks costs attributable to resolving deficiencies, damages resulting from the additional tax debt, attorney's fees and for such further relief as the court deems just and equitable. He is represented by Luisa A. Cabassa and Wenzel Fenton Cabassa of Wenzel Fenton Cabassa PA in Tampa.
Tampa Division for the Middle District of Florida Case number 8:17-cv-00188