On Wednesday, March 9, 2022, Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP, filed a class and collective action lawsuit against W Services Group LLC, a national facilities service provider that manages numerous projects for multisite groups, for unpaid wages. This lawsuit seeks to recover minimum wages and overtime compensation and other damages for similarly situated cleaning workers (hereinafter “Cleaners”) arising out of their employment with W Services Group LLC (“W Services”), Cleaning Path Corp. (“Cleaning Path”), and Cinia Ortega (“Ortega”) (collectively referred to as “Defendants”).
The lawsuit alleges that Defendants failed to pay its Cleaners theminimum wage for all hours worked and failed to pay overtime compensation as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Cleaners went unpaid for travel and wait time between job locations at 1.5 times their regular rate of pay when working in excess of 40 hours per workweek. In turn, cleanersfailed to receive the proper overtime pay under the FLSA.Moreover, Defendants paid Cleaners on an untimely bi-weekly basis despite being considered manual workers under New York Labor Law (“NYLL”). This state law requires manual workers in New York be paid their wages within seven calendar days after the end of the week in which these wages were earned. As a result, Defendants failed to provide timely wages to Plaintiff and all other similarly situated Cleaners in New York. Further, Defendants failed to provide adequate wage notices and accurate wage statements to Plaintiff and other similarly situated Cleaners. Plaintiff brings this action on behalf of herself and all other similarly situated Cleaners in New York who elect to opt in to this action pursuant to the FLSA as well as the NYLL.
Although W Services utilizes subcontracted Cleaners viacompanies like Cleaning Path, a 24-hour commercial cleaning service based out of Queens, NY, the lawsuit argues that W Services is considered a joint employer of all similarly situated Cleaners due to all of the following:
As a result, this lawsuit claims W Services is an employer of all similarly situated Cleaners and is responsible for paying these workers correctly under the FLSA and NYLL. If you’ve recently worked for W Services Group LLC as a cleaner and have questions regarding these claims, give us a call at (212)300-0375. Additionally, if you work in the industry as cleaner and have experienced similar violations, call us for a free and confidential consultation or visit our website here for more information regarding your rights in the workplace.
You can also view the filed complaint here.