updated March 15, 5:30 pm
A putative class action lawsuit against Farm Neck Golf Club was filed in Federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts on March 8 by a former employee, who said she was not properly paid for overtime hours she worked. (A “putative” class action refers to a lawsuit initially filed by one person, without a large group of people already involved.) Anna Shkuratova is suing for overtime compensation under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Massachusetts law that governs overtime pay.
Ms. Shkuratova’s complaint states that she worked as a cook at the Cafe at Farm Neck from May 9, 2016, to Sept. 17, 2016, and reported to cafe manager Pascal Bitoun and golf club general manager Timothy Sweet, both of whom directly supervised her working hours and compensation. Mr. Bitoun and Mr. Sweet are also named in the suit.
The suit alleges five subclasses of employees were not paid minimum and overtime wages, including kitchen employees, front-of-house cafe workers, golf course workers, golf professionals, pro shop salespeople, tennis pros, and maintenance workers.
According to the suit, Farm Neck Golf Club violated statutory requirements by consistently failing to pay Ms. Shkuratova and the proposed class members the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour under the FLSA and $10 per hour under Massachusetts minimum wage law.
“Plaintiff was subject to defendants’ common practices, policies or plans including failing to pay at least minimum wage for all regular hours worked, failing to pay at least one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week, failing to compensate plaintiff and class members for hours worked off the clock and failing to keep accurate time and payroll records in violation of the FLSA … In addition to failing to compensate plaintiff for regular and overtime hours, defendants directed plaintiff to work off the clock and/or without documentation, in order to avoid paying plaintiff proper compensation for such hours,” Ms. Shkuratova’s complaint states.
Four counts are listed in the suit, including FLSA claims against the defendants, violation of Massachusetts statutory law, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment.
Ms. Shkuratova seeks an award of damages equal to the value of her and the proposed class members’ unpaid wages and overtime, liquidated damages under the FLSA equal to the amount of unpaid wages, and overtime and treble damages under Massachusetts general law.
Ms. Shkuratova did not respond to The Times’ request for comment. Mr. Sweet declined to comment.
A person familiar with the golf course’s view of the allegations set out in the federal complaint by Ms. Shkuratova, but not authorized to act as on-the-record spokesman on behalf of Farm Neck, said the golf course will rely in part on Section 13(a)(3) of the FLSA. That provision of the law exempts employers from the minimum wage and overtime provisions for “any employee employed by an establishment which is an amusement or recreational establishment, if (A) it does not operate for more than seven months in any calendar year, or (B) during the preceding calendar year, its average receipts for any six months of such year were not more than 33⅓ per centum of its average receipts for the other six months of such year.”
Updated on March 15 to discuss Farm Neck’s possible response to the lawsuit.
