Law Firm Founding Partner Takes Night Club Owner To Task for Failing to Pay $120K Owed to Mistreated Workers

It is illegal for employers to misclassify employees as "independent contractors," especially in an effort to avoid minimum wage and overtime obligations. Attorney Betsey Ehrenberg, a founding partner of the union/employee-side law firm Pyle Rome Ehrenberg, PC, successfully sued night club owner Kevin Moury for this type of misclassification. Instead of paying his workers a minimum wage (let alone a livable one), Moury forced employees to pay him to work. He also fined workers who failed to pay the mandatory shift fee.

Ehrenberg helped two employees seek redress against their employer. A court eventually ordered Moury to pay more than $120,000 to the misclassified employees. As of about two weeks ago, the Methuen resident has failed to pay a dime, even though Moury admits that his night club business alone generates about a half million dollars a year. Ehrenberg forced Moury, who served time in jail for tax fraud, to appear in court. The Eagle Tribune provides an overview of the court proceeding here.