EAST ST. LOUIS - Former employees of the Makanda Inn claim they were not properly compensated for years of employment, earning less than the minimum wage.
Plaintiffs Malcom Leigh and Loraine Leigh filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against Camp Zest, Inc. doing business as Makanda Inn & Cottages and owner Gregory Wellman, citing violations of the Fair Labor Standards, the Illinois Minimum Wage Law and the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act.
According to the lawsuit, Malcolm Leigh entered into a one-year contract on Aug. 17, 2015, to work for the defendant at the Makanda Inn located in Makanda, Ill. The contract allegedly obligated the defendant to provide a monthly fee of $2,000, additional fees up to $1,000 for the first five months, on-site living quarters and a quarterly incentive compensation (IC) based on overall business performance. When the August 2015 contract expired, the parties agreed to continue the arrangement without the formality of a written contract.
The plaintiffs state that the defendant knew Loraine Leigh also worked together with Malcolm Leigh, but she was never officially recognized as an employee of the company. She was not compensated for any of the work she did while Malcolm Leigh received $2,000 monthly regardless of how many hours he worked. From 2018 through 2020 Malcom Leigh alleges he personally worked approximately 2,080 regular hours and 1,400 overtime hours per year and was paid approximately $28,850 per year. The Leighs claim that from 2018 through 2020, they did not receive any IC payments. Malcolm was then terminated in January 2021.
According to the lawsuit, despite the permanence of the plaintiff's employment and the lack of a written contract, the defendants purposely misclassified them as independent contractors for tax purposes. As a result of the misclassification, the defendant has failed to record the actual hours the plaintiffs worked, failed to pay them minimum wage and failed to pay them any overtime pay. Additionally, since they were classified as independent contactors, the plaintiffs did not receive contributions to their social security, and did not have access to unemployment insurance and workers compensation.
The lawsuit states that by failing to pay the plaintiffs at least minimum wage and overtime pay, the defendant violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Illinois Minimum Wage Law. Additionally, by not paying the plaintiffs the agreed upon wage, the defendant also violated the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages for unpaid wages, interest, attorney fees, court costs and any other relief the court deems proper. They are represented by the attorneys of Kennedy Hunt Law and Rhode Law Firm.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois case number 3:22-CV-01875-JPG