Washington et. al v. George Blount Security Inc., d/b/a Hondo Security, and George Blount, individually, Index No.:23-cv-04853

New Action filed in the United States District Court Southern District of New York

Washington et. al v. George Blount Security Inc., d/b/a Hondo Security, and George Blount, individually, Index No.:23-cv-04853

On June 8^th, 2023, Plaintiff Washington, on behalf of himself, individually, and on behalf of all others similarly-situated, by and through his attorneys, BORRELLI & ASSOCIATES, P.L.L.C., as and for his Complaint against GEORGE BLOUNT SECURITY INC., d/b/a HONDO SECURITY (“Hondo”), and GEORGE BLOUNT, individually, (collectively, where appropriate, as “Defendants”), alleges upon knowledge as to himself and his own actions, and upon information and belief as to all other matters, as follows:

Plaintiff worked for Defendants – – a New York corporations that operate as a Brooklyn-based security and its owners and day-to-day overseer – – as a security guard, first in Manhattan from in or around April 2015 through in or around the end of October 2020, and then in both Manhattan and Newark, New Jersey, from in or around November 2020 through January 13, 2023. As described below, at all times relevant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), the New York Labor Law (“NYLL”), the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law (“NJWHL”) and/or the New Jersey Wage Payment Law (“NJWPL”) (“the Relevant Period”), Defendants willfully failed to pay Plaintiff the overtime wages lawfully due to him under the FLSA, the NYLL, and the NJWHL, the minimum wages due under the FLSA, the NYLL, and the NJWHL, or all wages due under the NJWPL. Throughout Plaintiff’s employment, Defendants routinely required Plaintiff to work, and Plaintiff routinely worked, in excess of forty hour per week, but Defendants failed to pay Plaintiff at the statutorily-required overtime rate of either one and one-half times his regular rate of pay, one and one-half times the weighted average of his regular rates of pay, or one and one-half times the minimum wage rate, if greater, for all hours that he worked in excess of forty in a week. Instead, Defendants paid Plaintiff at two separate hourly rates – – one rate for work that Plaintiff performed in New York and one rate for work that Plaintiff performed in New Jersey – – for all hours of work in a week, including those hours over forty, which both fell below the NYLL’S and the NJWHL’s minimum wage rates. As a result, Defendants also failed to pay Plaintiff the full amount of his wages owed on each payday, in violation of the NJWPL. Furthermore, Defendants violated the NYLL and the N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. (“NYCRR”) by, for Plaintiff’s work in New York, failing to: pay Plaintiff and additional hour’s pay, at the minimum wage rate, for all days during which his spread of hours worked exceeded ten; and provide Plaintiff with any wage statement on each payday, let alone an accurate statement.

Mr. Washington has commenced this action not only for himself but also for all his other current and/or former coworkers who were also paid improperly by the Defendants.  Therefore, if any individual is or has previously been an employee of the Defendants named in the lawsuit and/or has information that may be relevant to this case, please contact Borrelli & Associates, P.L.L.C. as soon as possible through one of our websites, www.employmentlawyernewyork.com or www.516abogado.com, or any of our phone numbers: (516) 248–5550, (516) ABOGADO, or (212) 679–5000.