Steven Rust has filed a lawsuit against his former employer, DS Technologies, LLC, and its principal Jonathan Silver, alleging unpaid overtime wages and other violations of labor laws. The complaint was lodged in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana on January 3, 2025. Rust claims that during his employment from February to October 2024, he was not compensated for overtime hours worked beyond the standard 40-hour workweek as mandated by federal law.
The plaintiff, Steven Rust, contends that DS Technologies and Jonathan Silver violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by failing to pay him overtime wages. According to the FLSA, employees must receive at least one and a half times their regular pay rate for hours worked over 40 in a week. Rust alleges that despite routinely working more than 50 hours per week as a mechanical technician at DS Tech, he did not receive any overtime compensation. "Defendants directed Mr. Rust as to how, when, and where to perform his work," states the complaint, emphasizing the control exerted by Silver over Rust's employment conditions.
Rust further accuses DS Technologies of breaching the Louisiana Wage Payment Act (LWPA) by not paying him for accrued vacation time upon termination. The LWPA mandates employers to settle all due wages within specific timeframes following an employee's discharge or resignation. Despite having accumulated over 63 hours of vacation time by his last working day on October 11, 2024, Rust asserts that DS Tech has yet to compensate him for this earned leave.
In addition to seeking payment for unpaid overtime and vacation wages, Rust is pursuing liquidated damages under both federal and state laws. He argues that DS Tech's refusal to pay was "arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable," thus entitling him to penalty wages as well as attorney fees and costs associated with legal proceedings. The complaint requests judgment against both defendants for accumulated wages at the overtime rate required by law and an equal sum as liquidated damages.
Representing Steven Rust are attorneys James R. Bullman and Brian F. Blackwell from Blackwell & Bullman LLC based in Baton Rouge. The case is being heard under Case ID: 3:25-cv-00006-JWD-SDJ in front of Judge John W. deGravelles.