Media Contact
Kathryn Youker, Attorney
kyouker@trla.org or 956.447.4802
Cynthia Martinez, Communications Director
cmartinez@trla.org or 512.374.2764
BROWNSVILLE, Texas – December 10, 2009 – A Rio Grande Valley transportation company has settled a lawsuit with a former driver over unpaid overtime during a six month period.
Represented by Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA), Rodolfo Urbina alleged that Southwest Transportation Services failed to pay him the proper wages for overtime worked between September 2007 and February 2008. Filed in September, his lawsuit argued that such practices violate the Fair Labor Standards Act – the federal law that guarantees the minimum wage and overtime pay.
As a driver for Southwest Transportation Services, Urbina transported elderly residents across the Rio Grande Valley and often worked in excess of forty hours per week. Urbina alleges that his employer often docked hours from the time he reported in his travel logs even though they knew he was working. As a result, Urbina was not paid for his overtime.
According to TRLA attorney Kathryn Youker, “Workers must be paid for all of their hours of work. If the employer knows or should know that the work is being done, then he or she must pay for that work.”
Established in 1970, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc. (TRLA) is a nonprofit organization that provides free civil legal services to low-income and disadvantaged clients in a 68-county service area. TRLA’s mission is to promote the dignity, self-sufficiency, safety and stability of low-income Texas residents by providing high-quality civil legal assistance and related educational services.
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