FORT MYERS – A former employee of a Lee County company that provided guided trips of the Everglades alleges she was misclassified and not properly compensated for labor.
Gabriele Goern filed a complaint on Oct. 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida against Everglades Day Safari Inc. alleging violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that between May 2005 and September she worked for more than 40 hours per week without being paid any overtime premiums or a minimum wage. The plaintiff holds Everglades Day Safari Inc. responsible because the defendant allegedly misclassified plaintiff as an independent contractor in order to avoid paying her any overtime compensation at a rate of time-and-one-half.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks overtime compensation, liquidated damages, interest, all legal fees and any other relief as this court deems just. She is represented by Leon M. Walsh Jr. of Lusk, Drasites & Tolisano PA in Cape Coral.
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Fort Myers Division Case number 2:16-cv-00755-UA-MRM