BENTON — A 69-year-old bus driver says a local community organization did not pay him overtime wages and fired him because of his age.
Willie Franklin filed a complaint on June 28 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against the Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House and Reona Wise, a supervisor, alleging violations of the Illinois Minimum Wage Law and the Illinois Human Rights Act.
According to the complaint, the nonprofit did not pay Franklin for all the hours he worked preparing and delivering meals for the Senior Center's Meals on Wheels program. Franklin claims the organization discriminated against him for his age and fired him when he questioned his wages.
Franklin requests a trial by jury and seeks damages for lost wages and benefits. He is represented by Sarah Jane Hunt of Law Offices of Thomas E. Kennedy III in St. Louis.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois case number 3:18-cv-01335-NJR-RJD