Thomas et. al v. Coastal Steel, Inc d/b/a Coastal Steel, and Anderson Ragpat individually, Index No.:23-cv-06499

New Action filed in the United States District Court Eastern District of New York

On August 30, 2023, Plaintiff Thomas, on behalf of himself, individually, and on behalf of all others similarly-situated, (collectively as “FSLA Plaintiffs,” as that term is defined below), by and through his attorneys, BORRELLI & ASSOCIATES, P.L.L.C., as and for his Complaint against COASTAL STEEL, INC. d/b/a COASTAL STEEL (“Coastal Steel”),  individually, (together, where appropriate, as “Defendants”), alleges upon knowledge as to himself and his own actions, and upon information and belief as to all other matters, as follows:

Plaintiff worked for Defendants – – a New York corporation that operates a construction company that performs work at sites across New York State, as well as its owner and day-to-day overseer- – as a driver and laborer, driving a small vehicle to deliver steel within, New York, and performing labor at Defendants’ worksites once he completed the deliveries, from in or around 2001 to December 27, 2021. As described below, at all times during his employment as relevant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and the New York Labor Law (“NYLL”) (“the Relevant Period”), Defendants willfully failed to pay Plaintiff the overtime wages lawfully due to him under the FLSA and the NYLL. Specifically, approximately two weeks per month throughout the Relevant Period, Defendants required Plaintiff to work, and Plaintiff did work, in excess of forty hour in a workweek, yet in exchange, Defendants paid Plaintiff a flat daily rate that did not change based on how many total hours Plaintiff worked in a day or in a week, and thus did not include overtime premiums at the rate of one and one-half times his regular rate of pay for all hours that Plaintiff worked in a week over forty. Defendants further violated the FLSA and the NYLL by failing to pay Plaintiff any of his wages whatsoever for his final month of work, and thus Defendants did not pay him at least at the statutorily-prescribed minimum wage rate for any hours of work during those weeks. In failing to pay Plaintiff at all for his final month of work, Defendants further violated the NYLL by not paying him all of his wages owed at least frequently as weekly, or by the last regularly-scheduled payday after his employment ended. Defendants also violated the NYLL by failing to furnish Plaintiff with any wage statement on each payday or with any wage notice at the time of his hire, let alone an accurate statement or notice.  Defendants paid and treated all of their non-managerial employees, such as drivers, helpers, assemblers, welders, and laborers, in this same manner.

Mr. Thomas has commenced this action not only for himself but also for all his other current and/or former coworkers who were also paid improperly by the Defendants.  Therefore, if any individual is or has previously been an employee of the Defendants named in the lawsuit and/or has information that may be relevant to this case, please contact Borrelli & Associates, P.L.L.C. as soon as possible through one of our websites, www.employmentlawyernewyork.com or www.516abogado.com, or any of our phone numbers: (516) 248–5550, (516) ABOGADO, or (212) 679–5000.