Lawsuit Alleging Wage and Hour Violations Filed Against Green Laundromat in New York

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A proposed collective action out of New York federal court accuses Green Laundromat and its owners of federal and state labor law violations. The lawsuit–filed against the laundromat’s two operating companies and two individual owners/managers–alleges potential violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York Labor Law (NYLL), and includes claims for unpaid overtime.

The plaintiff was employed as a laundromat attendant by the defendants from June 2013 to February 2018, the lawsuit says. The suit alleges that she worked in excess of 40 hours per week for some months without proper time-and-a-half overtime pay. Specifically, the plaintiff claims she worked 50.5 hours per week from the start of her employment until April 2016 and 42.5 hours per week from January 2017 to January 2018. 

Regarding her compensation, the lawsuit explains that from the start of her employment to December 2015, the plaintiff received a fixed weekly salary of $350. From January 2016 to December 2017, the plaintiff’s weekly salary was $420, the suit continues, and further increased to $480 for the month of January 2018. The complaint points out that this weekly salary did not vary regardless of the number of hours the plaintiff worked. Further, the case claims that these pay practices caused the plaintiff’s effective rate of pay to fall below the federal minimum wage.

The case also accuses the defendants of unlawful wage deductions, noting one occasion when the defendants allegedly deducted $20 from the plaintiff’s weekly wages to recover the cost of services provided to a client who paid with counterfeit money. The lawsuit also accuses the defendants of improper recordkeeping, failing to provide the plaintiff with accurate wage statements, and neglecting to reimburse the woman for “tools of the trade” she was required to purchase.