In April 2020, Kennedy Hunt P.C. filed a class action wage and hour lawsuit against Eclipse Advantage, LLC, a warehouse-based product distribution company. In September, we filed an Amended Collective / Class Action Complaint against the company.
In April 2018, our client began working at Eclipse Advantage, LLC. as an Industrial Athlete. When he was hired, Eclipse told our client he would be paid weekly and based on “productivity” rather than at a set rate. Specifically, Eclipse told our client the more trucks he unloaded in less time, the more money he would make.
Our client, as well as similarly situated workers (Putative Class Members), were not given a set work schedule and hours worked depended on a variety of factors, including how busy it was in any given week. Additionally, Eclipse paid Putative Class Members different rates for the same hours in the same position.
The Putative Class Members were not properly compensated for hours worked and in general, did not receive overtime pay, even if they worked more than 40 hours during a work week. Eclipse Advantage, LLC. deducted time from the Putative Class Members’ shifts to prevent them from receiving overtime. Specifically, Eclipse deducted lunch breaks from each employee’s shift even though Putative Class Members were so busy they were unable to take a lunch break.
When our client asked why he was not paid overtime for a week in which he worked 70 hours, he was told that he was not paid overtime because “so many guys hit overtime.”
Our client, a Black man, also alleges Eclipse Advantage, LLC discriminated against him during his employment, which resulted in his wrongful termination.
Eclipse Advantage, LLC. uses a 12-point system to keep track of attendance issues, such as lateness or skipped shifts. The defendant claimed that any employee who accumulated more than 12 points would be fired, but our client alleges that while Black employees are held to this standard, white employees are not.
Shortly after calling off work due to exhaustion, and raising issues concerning his unfair pay, our client was terminated from his job at Eclipse Advantage, LLC.
Our client is seeking to recover compensation, liquidated damages, and attorneys’ fees and costs both individually and on behalf of his Putative Class Members for unpaid wages. Additionally, our client is individually seeking to recover liquidated and/or punitive damages, compensatory damages, lost wages, and attorney’s fees and costs for his retaliatory termination. Our client is also seeking lost wages, compensatory damages, and attorney’s fees and costs for his wrongful, discriminatory termination.
This case is ongoing. For further information, please contact attorney Sarah Jane Hunt at (314) 872-9041 or sarahjane@kennedyhuntlaw.com. If you or someone you know has been a victim of unpaid wages and/or employment discrimination, our skilled attorneys at Kennedy Hunt, P.C. may be able to help you. Fill out a questionnaire so we can understand your claim.