Boat Bottom Express Hit with Lawsuit in Florida Over Alleged Labor Law Abuses

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Boat Bottom Express and its owner have been hit with a lawsuit filed by a former employee over allegations of wage abuses and tax fraud.

The plaintiff, an administrative assistant for the boat restoration company, claims she wasn’t paid proper overtime wages while working out of the defendant’s Ramrod Key, Florida facility between October 2017 and October 2018. The suit alleges that during her first month on the job, the plaintiff was only paid for her first 40 hours of work per week despite putting in an average of 63 hours each week. After that, the woman was improperly paid at her straight-time rate for both regular and overtime hours, the case alleges. Additionally, the plaintiff claims she was promised seven percent of all revenue brought in after she became a salaried employee but never received these wages.

The case explains that after an influx of business following the destruction of Hurricane Irma, the plaintiff picked up additional job duties and became a salaried employee in November 2017. These duties supposedly included managing other workers, accounting, and running personal errands for the company’s owner, such as feeding his cats and driving him to and from local bars. Despite maintaining “full control, direction, and discretion” over her responsibilities, the defendants misclassified the plaintiff as an independent contractor in order to “intentionally avoid” paying federal payroll and state unemployment taxes, the case alleges.

The woman says she learned of her alleged misclassification after consulting a certified personal accountant in response to her discovery that the company had not filed taxes since 2014. The plaintiff claims she was ignored when she advised the defendants that she and others were being paid improperly and recommended the company consult with a professional accountant.

Lastly, the case alleges that the plaintiff was terminated after refusing to participate in the defendants’ tax fraud practices. In September 2018, the suit says, the defendants were contacted by the Florida Department of Revenue concerning unpaid sales tax. The woman claims she was “immediately instructed” to destroy incriminating documents but declined to do so. Less than four weeks later, the complaint continues, the owner’s “mentor” fired the plaintiff on behalf of the defendants and reportedly stated, “[The owner] is disappointed in you and you should keep your mouth shut and think about the consequences.”