Akal Security Sued for Alleged FLSA Violations

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Akal Security Inc., a government contractor, finds itself facing another lawsuit for allegedly failing to pay its employees proper wages. The plaintiff works for the defendant as an Air Security Officer (ASO) and is responsible “for the supervision of deportees during flights back to their home country,” according to the complaint. The suit alleges that ASOs are automatically deducted a one-hour lunch break from their paychecks regardless of how much time they actually spend on a break or whether they take one at all. According to the plaintiff, much of the ASOs’ job duties are performed in flight, where they are restricted from spending their breaks on activities of their choosing. He further claims that employees are discouraged from taking lunch breaks because their employer does not provide “adequate facilities” to consume meals. The complaint says that the deportees “routinely defecate, urinate and vomit in their seats,” and that the cabin is not cleaned until the plane lands.

Citing alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the complaint argues that proposed class members are owed compensation for the minimum and overtime wages they did not receive when their unpaid breaks were supposedly deducted from their hourly pay. Akal is reported to have faced lawsuits for the same violations in a nationwide collective action filed in 2013 and a lawsuit currently filed in Florida.