Lawsuit: Electric Train Operator Not on Board with Former Employer’s OT Policies

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Valet Parking Experts, Inc. (which does business as Cubby Caboose Mini Express) and an individual owner are defendants in a proposed collective action filed by a former employee who claims he was misclassified as an independent contractor and, in consequence, was denied overtime wages. The plaintiff says he worked for the defendants as an operator, responsible for running electric trains in shopping malls. The lawsuit claims the defendants misclassified its employees as independent contractors while denying them the benefits usually associated with contractors. Specifically, the complaint mentions operators like the plaintiff are not permitted to negotiate ride prices, run promotions, determine their own hours, handle customer complaints, establish their own policies and procedures, or exercise other rights that the defendants reserve for themselves.

Although the plaintiff and proposed collective members routinely work more than 40 hours per week, they are allegedly denied premium overtime wages under the guise that they are contractors rather than employees. The suit seeks to grant them the overtime protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act and restore their allegedly unpaid wages.