A Louisiana man is suing his former employers, alleging unpaid overtime wages.
Fabian Esparza, individually and for all others similarly situated, filed a civil action lawsuit Sept. 22 in U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Louisiana against Kostmayer Construction, Hiram Investments and James H. Kostmayer Jr., alleging unpaid overtime wages in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
According to the complaint, during the time Esparza worked as a handyman, steel cutter, carpenter, landscaper, and painter for the defendants starting in 2009, he was paid an hourly wage of $15 per hour. However, the suit says, the defendants did not pay Esparza time-and-a-half for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week.
The complaint states that for the first 40 hours Esparza worked in any particular week, his payment check bore the name "Kostmayer Construction Inc." For every hour that he worked in excess of 40 hours in any particular week, Kostmayer paid him with a check that bore the name "Hiram Investments," the lawsuit states.
Esparza seeks to recover unpaid wages, interest, liquidated damages, plus attorney fees and court costs. He is represented by attorneys Roberto Luis Costales and William H. Beaumont of New Orleans.
U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Louisiana case number 2:15-cv-04644-SM-SS.