Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
HP Services employees working to get power back on after devastating 2017 hurricanes in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands were paid as little as $200 per day for 12-hour work shifts, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiff Jose Rodriguez-Ortiz filed the class action lawsuit against HP Services, Corp Wednesday in a New Jersey federal court, alleging the company violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as well as local wage laws of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
He said he and others were employed by HP Services, a subcontractor to Louis Berger, to do hurricane recovery work after the massive devastation caused by Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria in 2017.
At the time, FEMA and other state and federal government departments had implemented programs to provide aid and repairs to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. As of November 1, 2018, FEMA alone had awarded more than $4 billion for public assistance programs, and as part of these efforts, Louis Berger was awarded multiple contracts for power generation and repair, the class action lawsuit states.
It hired more than 300 people on the ground and subcontracted the work of delivery, repairs, and service and maintenance on generators for use in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands through HP Services and other subcontractors, the class action lawsuit says.
HP Services hired workers such as Rodriguez-Ortiz to perform skilled and manual labor to provide handyman, laborer, or mechanic services, he says, but misclassified them as independent contractors.
As a result, Rodriguez-Ortiz was paid a flat day rate which ranged between $200 to $250 per day regardless of the number of hours he worked. He says he and others “customarily” worked 12 or more hours a day, and consistently worked over 60 hours a week with no overtime.
At least 32 other workers have already opted into the class action, and say they also worked a day rate without overtime.
They say they were not independent contractors because the job prohibited them from working other jobs for other companies while they were working on jobs for HP Services, the companies ordered the hours they worked and provided all equipment, and the work was manual, not highly skilled.
Rodriguez-Ortiz seeks certification of the class action lawsuit, a jury trial, unpaid back wages, damages, fees, costs, and interest.
He wants to represent several Classes of workers. One Class includes workers who were classified as independent contractors and paid by HP Services’ day-rate system. One Class includes workers whose overtime rate was improperly calculated, along with a Puerto Rico Class and a Virgin Islands Class.
The class action lawsuit alleges HP Services and Louis Berger worked together in concert to employ the Class Members in Puerto Rico, and after a previous wage and hour investigation into the same matter, Louis Berger agreed to pay more than $5,000,000 in back wages.
Meanwhile, Puerto Rico is still trying to recover from recent natural disasters, including Hurricane Maria — which happened more than three years ago now. Unfortunately, Puerto Ricans are still waiting on about $1.6 billion in unpaid hurricane insurance claims that would have helped them rebuild according to FEMA. Read more about that here.
What do you think of the way the contractors allegedly paid workers in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands? Let us know in the comments!
The lead plaintiff is represented by Dana M. Cimera of Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP, Michael A. Josephson, Richard M. Schreiber, Andrew Dunlap, and Josephson Dunlap, LLP, and Richard J. (Rex) Burch of Bruckner Burch, PLLC.
The HP Services Labor Class Action Lawsuit is Rodriguez-Ortiz v. HP Services, Corp., Case No. 2:21-cv-11509-KM-JBC, in the U.S. District Court District of Puerto Rico.
Don’t Miss Out!
Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements: