Alvarez v. Upper Restoration, Inc., and Matthew Lee, individually, Docket No.: 2:25-cv-06792-JS-LGD

Parties stipulated and Judge ordered a Conditional Certification of Collective Action in the United States District Court Eastern District of New York

Plaintiff, Alvarez on behalf of himself, individually, and on behalf of all others similarly-situated, filed a collective action lawsuit in the United States District Court District Eastern District of New York against Upper Restoration, Inc., and Matthew Lee, individually, alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), the New York Labor Law (“NYLL”), and the New York Codes Rules and Regulations (“NYCRR”),  including the failure of Defendants to compensate Plaintiff for overtime wages.  The claims of the case are as follows:

• Plaintiff worked for Defendants – – a New York corporation that operates a Nassau County-based construction business and the corporation’s owner and day-to-day overseer – – as a non-managerial laborer, performing general construction work at various commercial and residential jobsites throughout New York state, from in or around March 2025 until September 10, 2025.
• Specifically, Defendants required Plaintiff to work, and Plaintiff did work, beyond forty hours in a workweek, yet in exchange, Defendants paid Plaintiff at a flat hourly rate, which did not include overtime premiums at the statutorily-required rate of one and one-half times his regular rate of pay for all hours that he worked in excess of forty in a week.
• Moreover, Defendants further violated the NYLL by failing to furnish Plaintiff with any wage statement on each payday or with any wage notice at his time of hire, let alone an accurate one.
• Defendants paid and treated all their non-managerial laborers in the same manner.

Defendants violated Plaintiff rights guaranteed to them by the overtime provisions of the FLSA, the NYLL and the NYCRR.  Additionally, Defendants violated the NYLL by failing to provide Plaintiff with any wage notice upon hire or throughout the relevant period; and provide Plaintiff with an accurate wage statement on each payday.

Certification of Collective Action

In this case, pursuant to the stipulation of the parties, the Judge reviewed the stipulation that the Plaintiff brought forward alleging that there are additional workers in the collective certification (performing the same or similar duties) whose rights have been violated.  On July 20, 2026, the Court ordered the approval of a collective action allowing the case to proceed as a collective action enabling any current and former employees who were not paid properly to join the lawsuit and seek redress for Defendants’ failure to compensate them in accordance with the law.

If you or a person you know worked for the Defendants named in the lawsuit during the time period of December 9, 2022 – present or has information that may be relevant to this case, contact Borrelli & Associates, P.L.L.C. as soon as possible through one of our websites, www.employmentlawyernewyork.com, www.516abogado.com or any of our phone numbers: (516) 248-5550, (516) ABOGADO, and (212) 679-5000.

COURT AUTHORIZED NOTICE OF LAWSUIT