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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

CASE NO.: 1:20-CV-21935

LAZARO D. ECHEVARRIA,

Plaintiff,

vs.

EXXEL MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION INC. and

SONIA HERNANDEZ,

Defendants.

______________________________/

COMPLAINT FOR FLSA OVERTIME WAGE VIOLATION(S)

Plaintiff, Lazaro D. Echevarria, sues Defendants, Exxel Medical Transportation, Inc. and 

Sonia Hernandez, as follows:

Parties, Jurisdiction, and Venue

1. Plaintiff, Lazaro D. Echevarria, is over 18 years old and has been a sui juris

resident of Miami-Dade County, Florida, at all times material. 

2. Plaintiff was an hourly employee of Defendants, as the term “employee” is defined 

by 29 U.S.C. §203(e).

3. Plaintiff was a non-exempt employee of Defendants.

4. Plaintiff consents to participate in this lawsuit.

5. Defendant, Exxel Medical Transportation, Inc. (“Exxel”), is a sui juris

Florida for-profit corporation that conducted its for profit para-medical transit business in 

Miami-Dade County, Florida, at all times material, where it maintained its principal place of 

business. 

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6. Defendant, Sonia Hernandez, was at all times material an 

owner/officer/director of Exxel, for the time period relevant to this lawsuit. She ran Exxel’s dayto-day operations, supervised Plaintiff, was responsible for all operational decisions, and was 

partially or totally responsible for paying Plaintiff’s wages.

7. Venue is proper pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1391(b)(ii) because Defendants transact 

business in this District, because Defendants, maintained their principal places of business in this 

District, because Plaintiff worked and was due to be paid in Miami-Dade County, and because 

most if not all of the operational decisions were made in this District.

8. This Court has original jurisdiction over Plaintiff’s federal question claims 

pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1331 and 26 U.S.C. §201, et seq.

9. Any/all condition(s) precedent to filing this lawsuit occurred and/or was satisfied 

by Plaintiff.

10. Plaintiff retained the undersigned counsel and agreed to pay a reasonable fee for 

all services rendered.

Background Facts

11. Defendants were Plaintiff’s direct employers, joint employers and co-employers 

for purposes of the FLSA, as the term “employer” is defined by 29 U.S.C. §203(d). 

12. Defendants regularly employed two or more employees for the relevant time 

period that handled goods or materials that travelled through interstate commerce, or used 

instrumentalities of interstate commerce, thus making Defendants’ business an enterprise covered 

by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

13. Defendants have been at all times material engaged in interstate commerce in the 

course of their transportation of patients to and from locations within South Florida for medical 

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and healthcare-related appointments which, traditionally, cannot be performed without using 

computers, monitors, computer networking equipment, phones, fuel, tires, vehicles, goods, 

materials, supplies, and equipment that have all moved through interstate commerce. 

14. Defendants also engage in interstate commerce in the course of their submission 

of billings and receipt of payment involving out-of-state payors. 

15. Furthermore, Defendants obtain, solicit, exchange and send funds to and from 

outside of the State of Florida, regularly and recurrently use telephonic transmissions going 

outside of the State of Florida to conduct business, and regularly and recurrently transmit 

electronic information through computers, the internet, via email, and otherwise outside of the 

State of Florida in the course of their business.

16. Defendants’ annual gross revenues derived from this interstate commerce are 

believed to be in excess of $500,000.00 and/or in excess of $125,000.00 for each fiscal quarter 

during the relevant time period.

17. During this time, Plaintiffs regularly and routinely utilized vehicles, cellular 

telephones, fuel, and other goods and supplies that moved through interstate commerce.

18. Plaintiff also would regularly and routinely used Defendants’ business credit card 

(American Express) provided to him in order to pay for the gasoline used to fill Defendants’ 

vehicle.

19. Plaintiff worked for Defendants from about December 26, 2019 to the present. To 

the extent that records exist regarding the exact dates of Plaintiff’s employment exist, such 

records are in the exclusive custody of Defendants.

20. Defendants agreed to pay Plaintiff at a rate of $10.00/hour for each hour worked.

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21. Plaintiff would regularly and routinely work more than 40 hours in a workweek 

for Defendants.

Liability

22. Defendants failed and refused to pay Plaintiff overtime wages calculated at time 

and one-half times his regular hourly rate(s) of pay for all of the hours that he worked over 40 

hours in a given workweek by improperly deducting overtime hours he worked from his 

compensable time / paychecks.

23. Defendants willfully and intentionally refused to pay Plaintiff wages at a rate of 

time and one-half times his regular rate of pay for each of the overtime hours he worked during 

the relevant time period by paying Plaintiff for up to 40 hours each week without paying him 

overtime wages for all of the overtime hours he worked.

24. Defendants either recklessly failed to investigate whether their failure to pay 

Plaintiff an overtime wage for the hours he worked during the relevant time period violated the 

Federal Wage Laws of the United States, they intentionally misled Plaintiff to believe that 

Defendants were not required to pay an overtime rate, and/or Defendants concocted a scheme

pursuant to which the deprived Plaintiff the overtime pay earned.

25. Plaintiff is entitled to a backpay award of overtime wages for all overtime hours he 

worked, plus an equal amount as a penalty, plus all attorneys’ fees and costs.

WHEREFORE Plaintiff, Lazaro D. Echevarria, demands the entry of a judgment in his 

favor and against Defendants, Exxel Medical Transportation, Inc. and Sonia Hernandez, jointly 

and severally after trial by jury, and as follows:

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a. That Plaintiff recover compensatory overtime wage damages and an equal 

amount of liquidated damages as provided under the law and in 29 U.S.C. 

§ 216(b);

b. That Plaintiff recover pre-judgment interest on all unpaid overtime wages 

if the Court does not award liquidated damages;

c. That Plaintiff recover an award of reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs, and 

expenses pursuant to the FLSA;

d. That Plaintiff recover all interest allowed by law;

e. That Defendants be Ordered to make Plaintiff whole by providing 

appropriate overtime pay and other benefits wrongly denied in an amount 

to be shown at trial and other affirmative relief; 

f. That the Court declare Defendants to be in willful violation of the 

overtime provisions of the FLSA; and 

g. Such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.

DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL

Plaintiff, Lazaro D. Echevarria, demands a trial by jury of all issues so triable.

Respectfully submitted this 8th day of May 2020,

s/Brian H. Pollock, Esq.

Brian H. Pollock, Esq. (174742)

brian@fairlawattorney.com

FAIRLAW FIRM

7300 North Kendall Drive

Suite 450

Miami, FL 33156

Tel: 305.230.4884

Counsel for Plaintiff

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