Category Archives: Illegal immigrants

April 3, 2013 · 6:37 pm

11th Circuit Court finds in Lamonica v. Safe Hurricane Shutters that undocumented workers may recover unpaid wages under FLSA despite Hoffman case

hurrican shutters

Hurricane shutter installers filed suit against their employer, Safe Hurricane Shutters, Inc. under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  On March 11, 2013, the 11th Circuit rejected employers’ arguments that employees were wrongdoers with no work authorization and no filed tax returns. The Court, relying on its prior opinion in Patel v. Quality Inn S., 846 F.2d 700 (11th Cir. 1988) and rejecting Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. NLRB, 535 U.S. 137 (2002),  found that an employee’s ability to recover unpaid wages for work already performed does not depend on their immigration status. Thus, in the 11th Circuit, a worker’s undocumented status will not bar his recovery in any FLSA action. A possible interpretation here is that this ruling will level the playing field by preventing violating employers from gaining unfair competitive advantage by saving money in denying undocumented workers their lawfully earned wages.

If you are an undocumented worker and would like more information about your possible employment claim, you may:

Call our law office at (954) 946-8130 for a free consultation about your wage concerns.

Send an email to rose <at> roserobbins.com 

Complete the form below for confidential submission to our law firm .

A representative will review your email or submitted form and  contact you.  This is a FREE consultation and you will not be charged for this consultation.  Also please be advised that, merely by submitting this form, no Attorney-Client relationship is formed with the law firm.  The ONLY way that an Attorney-Client relationship with  the Law Office of Rose H. Robbins is formed is by specifically written  agreement signed by you and the Law Office of Rose H. Robbins.  You must provide your name,  home  or cell phone number and your zip code and all remaining fields are optional.

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Filed under FLSA, Hurricane Shutters Installer, Illegal immigrants

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December 26, 2012 · 11:10 pm

Does FLSA protection apply to undocumented aliens without work authorization?

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Are aliens without employment authorization entitled to FLSA protection?

Yes. Aliens withoutemployment authorization are nevertheless entitled to federal employment protection. Patel v. Quality Inn South, 846 F.2d 700 (11th Cir. 1988), cert, denied, 109 S.Ct. 1120 (1989)   [Entitlement to FLSA protection]; Matter of Reyes, 814 F.2d 168 (5th Cir. 1987)- [In FSLA/MASAWPA case, plaintiffs did not have to divulge their alienage as documented/undocumented or their citizenship, as those matters were irrelevant in regard to recovery]; Antenor v. D&S Farms, 88 F.3d 925 (11th Cir. 1996)  [Growers are joint employers with labor contractors for purposes of FLSA and AWPA].

Do pre-employment expenses go to into the calculation of the minimum wage?

Yes. FLSA protection extends to paying for farmworkers transportation to the U.S., for visa and immigration fees, and for pre-employment expenses which primarily benefit the growers. Arriaga v. Florida Pacific Farms, LLC, 305 F.3d 1228 (11th Cir. 2002);  Martinez-Bautista v. D & S Produce, 447 F.Supp.2d 954, 963-64 (E.D. Ark. 2006) [Farmworkers entitled to pre-employment expenses including transportation costs and visas which should go into the calculation of the minimum wage].

Does FLSA protection include protection from retaliation?

Yes. FLSA protection also includes protection from retaliation. Contreras v. Corinthian Vigor Insurance Brokerage, Inc., 103 F.Supp.2d 1180 (N.D. Cal. 2000),  reported in 11 Interpreter Releases 1158-60 (Aug. 14, 2000).

Do FLSA claims remain post-Hoffman?

 Yes. FLSA claims remain post – Hoffman Plastic. Zavala v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 393 F.Supp.2d 295, 320-32 (D.N.J. 2005) [Hoffman Plastics does not bar FLSA claim by undocumented janitors]; Flores v. Amigon, 233 F.Supp.2d 462 (E.D.N.Y. 2002) [Refused discovery request regarding employee's immigration status because it is not relevant to back wage claim for violation of FLSA]; Singh v. Jutla & CD. & R’s Oil, Inc., 214 F.Supp.2d 1056 (N.D. Cal. 2002) [Court declined to extend Hoffman to preclude a claim for retaliatory discharge based upon employer informing DHS to arrest undocumented employee]; Ulloa v. Al’s All Tree Service, Inc., 768 N.Y.S. 2d 556 (D.C. 2d 2003) [Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. does not bar FLSA claim].

How does FLSA apply to detained aliens?

At least one court has found that a detained alien has no right under FLSA to receive more than $l/day paid by INS for work because s/he is not an employee, Alvarado-Guevara v. INS, 902 F.2d 394 (5th Cir. 1990), and at least one court has found that requiring persons to work at Oakdale Detention Center does not violate the Thirteenth Amendment.   Channer v. Hall, 112 F.3d 214 (5th Cir. 1997)

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You may call our law office at (954) 946-8130 to see if you have a case or please feel free to complete the form below for submission to our law firm if you would like more information about your possible employment claim.  A representative will review it and  contact you. Please allow one  business day for someone to contact you and if you do not hear back from us then  it is possible that we did not receive it. This is a FREE consultation and you will not be charged for this call. Also please be advised that, merely by submitting this form, no Attorney-Client relationship is formed with the law firm.  The ONLY way that an Attorney-Client relationship with  the Law Office of Rose H. Robbins is formed is by specifically written  agreement signed by you and the Law Office of Rose H. Robbins.  You must provide your name,  home  or cell phone number and your zip code and all remaining fields are optional.

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Filed under Fair Labor Standards Act ["FLSA"], FLSA, Illegal immigrants, Undocumented Workers

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April 21, 2012 · 7:57 pm

Illegal alien workers can sue for unpaid overtime pay says Court

The Department of Labor sued a nail care and  salon  located on  Manhattan’s Upper West Side for failing to pay their workers overtime wages for hours worked in excess of 40 per week. The company sought to use the fact that  Its employees were illegal aliens to show that they were not covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Court ruled that FLSA applies to “any individual” employee and contains no exception or exclusion for persons who are not U.S. citizens or who are in this country illegally. Furthermore, this is not new and other courts have uniformly come to the same conclusion. In addition, the purpose of this view is to prevent the payment of substandard wages from being used as “an unfair method of competition” against law-abiding competitors. 20 U.S.C. § 202(a)(3).  Solis-v.-Cindys-Total-Care-Order

These kinds of lawsuits may also be brought by a private law firm such as the Law Office of Rose H. Robbins and FLSA provides for attorneys fees and costs to be paid by the employer.

Our firm will prosecute class  and collective actions on behalf of aggrieved employees. We will undertake any litigation arising from this investigation on a contingent fee basis. If a lawsuit is filed as a result of this investigation, we will only seek payment of any fees from recovery generated by the lawsuit. This means any fee we receive will be paid by the defendant or out of any settlement or judgment recovered.  Likewise, all costs will be advanced by us. If an action is filed and not successful, you would not be responsible for any of our fees or costs. If you wish to discuss this investigation and any potential legal options you may have, or if you have any questions please contact our law office.

You may contact the Law Offices of Rose H. Robbins for a free consultation to see if you have a case for unpaid overtime or minimum wages by calling (954) 946-8130 or by filling out the confidential “contact us” form below which will arrive at our law offices instantly. You may email us too: rose (at) roserobbins.com   If our office decides to accept your case and we enter into a written, signed retainer agreement you will not have to pay anything unless we win your case. Appointments are available at various locations in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade Counties.

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Filed under Illegal immigrants, overtime-wages, Salon workers

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April 9, 2012 · 6:55 pm

John and Anthony Cimino, owners of LTCI, Limited, a theatre refurbishing construction company, were sentenced for unlawful employment of illegal aliens and tax evasion.

Syracuse, NY— United States Attorney, Richard S. Hartunian, announced that John Cimino, age 55, of Doylestown, PA, Vice-President of LTCI, Limited, was sentenced yesterday in United States District Court to six months home confinement, twelve weekends in a residential reentry center, and three years of supervised release for tax evasion and conspiracy to conceal, harbor, and shield illegal aliens from detection for commercial advantage and private financial gain. Anthony Cimino, age 57, of West New Hope, PA, President of LTCI, Limited, was sentenced to six months home confinement and three years supervised release for conspiracy to conceal, harbor, and shield illegal aliens from detection for commercial advantage and private financial gain. “Homeland Security Investigations is committed to holding businesses accountable when they knowingly hire an illegal workforce,” said Nick DiNicola, assistant special agent in charge of HSI Albany, NY. “Employers who willfully violate our nation’s hiring laws gain an unfair economic advantage over their law abiding competitors. Our goal is to protect job opportunities for the nation’s legal workers and level the playing field for those businesses that play by the rules.”

In April 2008, agents from the U.S. Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations, discovered that LTCI, Limited, a Philadelphia based construction company specializing in the refurbishment of movie theaters, was employing undocumented illegal aliens at their worksite located at the Shoppingtown Mall movie theaters in DeWitt, NY. The investigation revealed that LTCI had hired and employed eight illegal aliens at this site.

A further investigation conducted by agents from the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CID), revealed that during 2007 and 2008, LTCI’s Vice President, John Cimino, who was in charge of the company’s payroll, evaded federal tax owed on the Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return (Form 941) by paying his employees (both legal and illegal) a majority of their overtime wages “off the books.”

In addition to home confinement and supervised release, United States District Court Judge David N. Hurd imposed a fine of $20,000 on each defendant. The Ciminos forfeited $223,000 to the United States as proceeds from the unlawful employment of the illegal aliens. Additionally, the Ciminos paid $622,492 for under-reported payroll taxes owed, which included $225,000 in penalties.

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Filed under Construction worker, Criminal prosecution, Illegal immigrants

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