INDIANAPOLIS — A pair of former employees for Indiana-based Simon Property Group recently filed an unpaid overtime lawsuit against the company for failing to adhere to state and federal wage laws and pay them appropriate overtime compensation.
The plaintiffs filed their complaint in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Indiana Indianapolis Division seeking collective action status to represent them and any current and former employees of Simon who may have been denied overtime.
The two lead plaintiffs worked at Simon malls in Athens, Illinois, and Oklahoma City. The claim they were improperly classified as overtime exempt employees in management roles when their primary duties were actually in customer service.
According to the complaint, the pair worked at guest services booths in the company’s shopping malls selling Simon gift cards. The suit alleges the plaintiffs regularly worked over 40 hours per week without overtime pay and Simon failed to record all of the hours worked by its customer service managers.
The unpaid overtime lawsuit alleges the plaintiffs were directly supervised by Simon’s marketing directors and did not “exercise any meaningful degree of independent discretion with respect to the exercise of their duties.” Plaintiffs allege they could not exercise basic managerial control over their jobs such as:
- Creating or implementing management policies, practices, and procedures
- Set employee wages
- Hire, fire, or promote employees
- Determine how many labor hours could be allocated to their location in the mall
Defendants Willingly Broke FLSA Laws
The defendants are accused of willingly violating wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by purposely misclassifying the plaintiffs and refraining from keeping records of their hours worked. The distinction is important because under the FLSA willful violations could result in the plaintiffs recovering up to three-years of unpaid overtime wages as opposed to only two if the court deems the plaintiffs did not act in bad faith.
The complaint does not name a specific dollar amount of compensation sought but does ask the court for relief in the form of unpaid overtime pay, liquidated damages, prejudgment interest on unpaid wages, attorneys fees, and any other compensation the court deems fit.
Recovering Overtime Pay if Misclassified as Non-Exempt Employee
Call (855) 754-2795 or complete the Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form on the top right of this page if you feel that your wage rights are being violated under the FLSA. Our top-rated team of unpaid wage lawyers will evaluate your situation to determine your best course of action to help you seek justice.
Our office will also determine if it is in your best interest to file a lawsuit against your employer. Because strict time limitations apply for filing these types of claims, we advise you contact our experienced unpaid overtime wage attorneys at your earliest convenience and preserve your legal rights.