Construction Giant Bovis Lend Lease Violated Labor Laws, According to Outten & Golden LLP
NEW YORK, July 24 /PRNewswire/ — A federal lawsuit alleges that Bovis Lend Lease, Inc. and Bovis Lend Lease LMB, Inc., managers of many of New York City’s famous construction projects, including the Mets’ Citi Field and the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero, did not pay workers overtime wages in violation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the New York Labor Law (NYLL), and the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law (NJWHL), according to Outten & Golden LLP.
Renee Sewell, a former employee from Hoboken, N.J. who worked at Bovis’ work sites in New York City and New Jersey, filed suit on Thursday in New York federal court on behalf of herself and other similarly situated employees.
The Complaint alleges that Bovis misclassified Ms. Sewell and other similarly situated employees as exempt from the overtime requirements of the FLSA, NYLL, and NJWHL, and failed to pay them overtime for the hours they worked over 40 during many workweeks.
Attorneys Adam T. Klein, Justin M. Swartz, Jack A. Raisner, and Rachel M. Bien, of Outten & Golden LLP in New York, represent Ms. Sewell. They will seek to have the lawsuit certified as a class action that includes similarly situated Assistant Project Managers, Project Engineers, and other salaried employees below the level of “Project Manager” with different titles who performed similar duties to Ms. Sewell.
Rachel M. Bien, of Outten & Golden LLP, stated, “While Bovis benefited from major construction contracts, we allege that it deprived workers, who worked long hours performing low-level construction management services at its work sites, of the overtime premium pay to which the law entitles them.”
The lawsuit seeks to recover unpaid wages, attorneys’ fees and costs, interest, and liquidated damages.
The case is “Sewell, et al., v. Bovis Lend Lease, Inc., et al.,” (Southern District of New York, Case No. 09-6548).
Attorney Contacts: Adam T. Klein, Jack A. Raisner, and Rachel Bien, Outten & Golden LLP, New York, NY, 212.245.1000, www.outtengolden.com.
SOURCE Outten & Golden LLP