A Trial Story

Each year, the Shavitz Law Group, P.A. successfully represents employees in different occupations who are owed varying amounts of overtime wages, from as little as $500 to $1,000, to as much as over $100,000 - for just one (1) employee.

In addition to working to negotiate a direct resolution of our clients’ claims as efficiently and promptly as possible, in some cases where no agreement can be reached between the parties, a Federal Court jury typically consisting of Six (6) people must often determine how much, if anything, a plaintiff-employee is owed. 

The following case is an example of a successful litigation outcome which the firm won at trial in 2007 on behalf of just one of the firm’s many hard working clients.

Jury Awards Delray Beach Cook Overtime Wages In Suit Against Miami Subs

“In April 2007, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida awarded Ketty Fabre of Delray Beach $11,932.00 in overtime wages for his work as a cook at a Deerfield Beach Miami Subs restaurant over a period of several years.  Mr. Fabre filed his lawsuit for unpaid overtime wages in Federal Court in March 2006 under the Fair Labor Standards Act, a law which requires covered employers to pay their employees time and one-half wages for each hour worked over forty (40) hours per week.

“We’re especially pleased for Mr. Fabre since the jury awarded our client every dollar that was requested,” said attorney Gregg I. Shavitz, who represented Mr. Fabre during the three (3) day trial.  Mr. Fabre alleged that he worked an average of 28 hours of overtime per week, and his employer, who denied the Plaintiff worked even a minute of overtime, failed to preserve records of his actual hours worked.  Although it is an employee’s burden to prove the extent of the hours he or she has worked each week, when an employer fails to maintain the very records the law requires, a presumption can arise against the employer. In this case, Mr. Shavitz’s questioning of the restaurant’s owner resulted in one of the Defendants admitting at trial to destroying vital time records after the lawsuit had been served upon her.

Ultimately, the jury expressed their displeasure with Homori, Inc., the corporate owner of the Miami Subs restaurant where Mr. Fabre worked, by delivering a full verdict for the Plaintiff after deliberating for just thirty (30) minutes. 

Subsequently, the Court awarded Mr. Fabre “double,” or “liquidated” damages which brought his total award to $23,864.00.  The Fair Labor Standards Act provides that an employer who is liable for unpaid overtime wages may also be liable to an affected employee for a total amount which is double the amount of the overtime wages that were not paid.  Employers can try to avoid a liquidated damage award but only if they are able to prove that they had a good faith, reasonable basis for failing to pay all of the overtime wages due.  In this case, the Court flatly rejected the Defendants’ attempts to avoid the imposition of liquidated damages, noting that the owner had knowingly destroyed documents that may have reflected the actual number of hours worked by Mr. Fabre – and did so after his lawsuit was already filed. 

Finally, because the Fair Labor Standards Act mandates that an employer who violates the law is responsible not only for the amounts owed to the employee but also for paying all reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in a lawsuit, the Court ordered Mr. Fabre’s former employer to pay more than $66,000.00 in attorneys’ fees and costs to the Shavitz Law Group as Plaintiff’s Counsel.”

To learn if the Shavitz Law Group, P.A. may be able to help you protect your right to fair pay and equal treatment in the workplace, CONTACT US today for a free consultation.