Pinay sues ex-employer for unpaid overtime wages

By Don Tagala, ABS-CBN North America Bureau

NEW YORK– Gemma Lagrazon is suing her employer to recover money damages for unpaid overtime wages.
Lagrazon says from 2008 to 2012 she worked as a counter person for Symphony Cleaners, a laundry and dry cleaning service in Manhattan.
She claims she received a flat pay rate of $800 per week or $10 per hour with no overtime pay.
"Actually basta na lang niya akong tinanggal, I worked very hard on that, like, I open at 7 a.m. and I close at 7 p.m. I work six days a week," Lagrazon said.
When Lagrazon sought the help of a labor and employment lawyer to sue her employer possibly for wrongful termination, Attorney Herbert Tan said that was not the case. He said Lagrazon’s employer was shortchanging her for not paying overtime wages.
She worked about 70 hours a week in almost almost three years. Employers are required to pay overtime pay in excess of 40 hours of work per week.
Attorney Tan said, “They’re very hard working people, they’re probably some of the best workers that I have dealt with, problem is they’re taken advantage of many times, I understand some people are scared, they don’t like to sue.”
Tan says Lagrazon filed a case against Symphony Cleaners for violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act at the Southern District Court of New York.
Lagrazon is seeking about $52,000 in unpaid overtime and unliquidated damages plus attorney’s fees.
Lagrazon said. “Dapat talaga, matuto tayong lumaban, kasi nasa tama tayo eh.”
Balitang America tried to contact the Symphony Cleaners owners but has not heard back from them at this time.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more