When Florida residents are at large public events or are working at construction sites, they do not think twice about who has to clean up the portable restrooms after everything is over. It is definitely a job that most workers would not want to do, but those who do expect to be paid for all of their hard -- and sometimes dirty -- work. A man who worked for Royal Flush has filed a federal lawsuit in the hopes to collect his unpaid overtime.
The plaintiff was a portable toilet cleaner who worked for the company for approximately five years and was making $16 per hour. The man claims that he would work long days that would sometimes go in excess of 12 hours. In any given week, he would work from 72 up to as much as 100 hours per week. Many workweeks, he would work six or seven days.
According to his complaint, the plaintiff was also losing more money through deductions in his pay check. He claims that he would lose $5 every other week for having his uniform cleaned. The plaintiff alleges that because of the kind of work that he did and the type of material that was used for his uniform, he did not really have a choice but to constantly have his uniform cleaned.
The man claims that he is not the only person who is in this situation and that nearly 40 other people may also be victims. The plaintiff's lawsuit is hoping to achieve class-action status for his unpaid overtime claim. Similarly situated individuals in Florida who find discrepancies in their pay checks and are not provided a satisfactory resolution may investigate the possibility of pursuing civil claims seeking a monetary judgment for that which they believe to be owed.
Source: New York Daily News, "Portable toilet company regularly failed to pay overtime: lawsuit", Stephen Rex Brown, Sept. 16, 2015