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Employees file lawsuit for OT pay

Herald-Standard - 4/17/2017

Employees of a Fayette County organization that serves people with developmental and intellectual disabilities have filed a lawsuit with their employer over allegedly not receiving overtime compensation.

Employees of a Fayette County organization that serves people with developmental and intellectual disabilities have filed a lawsuit with their employer over allegedly not receiving overtime compensation.

The individual and class-action complaint was filed in federal court in Pittsburgh by John R. Linkosky and Joseph E. Fieschko Jr., the attorneys representing Jesse Lynn, Belinda Darnell and similarly situated employees of ARC of Fayette County.

According to the complaint, Lynn and Darnell were employed in ARCs Home Support Program, and provide direct care and support services in the homes of the clients.

They both started working for ARC in 2004 and were employed until March, according to the suit.

When Lynn and Darnell werent working in the clients homes, they were working out of their home in Vanderbilt.

Both Lynn and Darnell worked in excess of 40 hours in many work weeks without any overtime paid to either, and the complaint claims that ARC never informed either of them for what hours they will be compensated.

The suit also claims that the employees in the Home Service Program were required to attend job-related training for 30 hours every year, but those hours werent recorded as work time or paid hours.

The complaint also claims that ARC never recorded the overtime hours in the employees time cards, even though Lynn and Darnell would submit reports that details their hours worked.

Plaintiffs were not exempt from the payment of the minimum wage or overtime compensation pursuant to any provision of the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) or PMWA ( Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act), according to the complaint. Plaintiffs were entitled to be paid for all their hours worked for (the county).

The complaint states that between 70 and 100 people were employed in the Home Support Programs over the past three years.

Those affected in the class-action lawsuit have worked in the Home Support Programs to provide the services of home and community, rehabilitation, companion services or respite for clients out of ARCs Uniontown location from April 10, 2014 to April 10, 2017.

The plaintiffs are seeking compensation of the unpaid minimum wages and overtime, liquidated damages and legal fees.

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