EAST ST. LOUIS - A purported class of Shah & Shah store managers claim they were not paid overtime wages and were not reimbursed for work-related expenses.
Therese Blake filed a class-action suit on Jan. 14 in the U.S. District for the Southern District of Illinois against Shah & Shah, LLC and Syed Khalid M. Shah, alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and violations of other Illinois acts.
Blake is represented by attorney Ryan F. Stephan of Stephan Zouras LLP in Chicago.
According to the lawsuit, Blake worked as a store manager for the defendants and regularly worked in excess of 40 hours per week without being provided overtime pay as compensation. Blake claims the defendants knowingly and deliberately misclassified her and the putative class members as exempt employees not entitled to overtime compensation and failed to reimburse them for the time worked. Blake also claims class members incurred job-related expenses, and the defendants failed to provide reimbursements.
Blake asks the court to order the defendants to provide the names, addresses, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, and social security numbers of all putative collective action members. She also seeks approval of the form and content of a notice to be sent to the class members advising them of the pendency of this litigation and of their rights; plus liquidated damages equal in amount to the unpaid compensation; an award of unpaid wages and other damages allowed; cost of action and pre-judgment and post-judgment interest.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois case number 3:22-cv-00066