On Monday the Fort Myers Beach Town Council will vote on a settlement agreement with former town employee Pareshkumar Patel. The Town Attorney is advising the council to settle with Patel for $50,000. Here’s what happened.
Patel filed a lawsuit against the town to recover unpaid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act and liquidated damages due to his alleged retaliatory firing in April of 2024.
Patel worked for the town as a project superintendent on an hourly basis. In July of 2023 the town informed Patel that his position was converted to a salary basis. He says that despite being told of the change the town continued to pay him on an hourly basis. He says he worked over 40 hours in one or more workweeks and was not properly compensated at one and one-half his regular rate for overtime hours worked.
In the lawsuit Patel claims that he complained about the underpayments multiple times to the town’s Human Resources department and to his supervisor. Then on or about August 29, 2023, as a result of the complaint, Patel alleges the town “perpetuated adverse employment actions against him, including but not limited to taking away his work vehicle and terminating his employment.”
The Town Attorney is recommending the Town Council settle the matter with Patel by awarding him $32,000 and his attorney’s $18,000.