Andrew Herr, a former employee of ELOS Environmental L.L.C., has filed a lawsuit against his former employer and Aventia, alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The complaint was filed on February 27, 2025, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Herr accuses ELOS Environmental and Aventia of retaliating against him after he raised concerns about potential FLSA violations during his employment as a Geologist.
According to the complaint, Andrew Herr began working for ELOS Environmental on January 6, 2025. Shortly after receiving his first two pay stubs, he noticed discrepancies in the recorded hours worked and became concerned that he was misclassified as an exempt employee. Herr's main issue was that his salary appeared to be tied to the quantity of work performed rather than his job duties. He also alleged that ELOS created a proxy pay deduction scheme by using fringe benefit deductions with the intent to dock pay at a later date. These practices, according to Herr, violated the salary basis test under FLSA regulations.
On January 27, 2025, Herr reached out to Ryan Hollis, Human Resources Business Partner at ELOS Environmental, expressing his concerns via email. He sought clarification on why his hours were inaccurately recorded and questioned whether there had been a mistake regarding the hours discussed during his hiring process. Despite multiple follow-up attempts on January 30, February 6, and February 12, Herr did not receive any satisfactory response from Hollis or other management members.
The situation escalated when Herr was called into a meeting with Ryan Hollis and Stehle Harris on February 12, where he was informed of his termination without prior notice or formal reprimand. The reasons given for his dismissal included claims of poor communication and performance—allegations that Herr disputes as false and unsupported by evidence. Furthermore, he argues that these reasons were pretextual and intended to justify retaliation against him for engaging in protected activity under FLSA.
In addition to claiming retaliation under federal law (29 U.S.C. § 215(a)(3)), Herr points out that ELOS Environmental had previously been investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division in 2022 for similar violations. This history suggests a pattern of behavior by ELOS in handling employees who raise concerns about labor standards.
Herr is seeking several forms of relief from the court: back pay for lost wages since termination; front pay for future lost wages due to an irreparable working relationship; liquidated damages equal to back pay; compensatory damages for emotional distress; punitive damages to deter future misconduct; prejudgment and post-judgment interest; and legal fees as provided under FLSA provisions.
The case is being overseen by Judge GGG-DPC with Case ID: 2:25-cv-00387-GGG-DPC. Andrew Herr is representing himself pro se in this matter.