ORLANDO – Two Orange County residents claim a transportation company did not adequately compensate them and made unlawful deductions from their paychecks.
Santiary Rivera and Hector Burgos filed a complaint on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated on Dec. 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division against USA Transporter Services Inc. alleging violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that they were employed by the defendant as drivers and worked until on or about May 4, 2016. They allege they were misclassified by the defendant as independent contractors rather than employees to avoid withholding employment taxes from their earnings and paying mandatory employment taxes on their behalf. They also allege they were denied full payment of their overtime wages and deducted monies from wages to cover the cost of damage insurance for the defendant's vehicles.
The plaintiffs hold USA Transporter Services Inc. responsible because the defendant allegedly obtained monies from unlawful deduction practices, misclassified its employees to avoid employment taxes, and refused to compensate employees their proper overtime wages.
The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and seek judgment against defendant for damages of $5,000, actual damages, costs, attorney's fees and further relief as the court deems just. They are represented by Luis A. Cabassa of Wenzel Fenton Cabassa PA in Tampa.
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division Case number 6:16-cv-02158