Enrique Pedraza has taken legal action against his former employer, a food products company, alleging significant violations of labor laws. On November 8, 2024, Pedraza filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Amerikoa Ingredients LLC. The lawsuit claims that the company failed to pay him for all hours worked, including overtime, and misclassified him as an exempt employee to avoid paying proper wages.
According to the complaint filed by Enrique Pedraza through his attorney from The Law Office of John Ireland, Amerikoa Ingredients LLC is accused of violating several labor laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Illinois Minimum Wage Act (IMWA), and the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (IWPCA). Pedraza alleges that he was employed by Amerikoa from December 2022 until March 2024 and during this period was not compensated for hundreds of hours of overtime work. He contends that despite being classified as a salaried employee with supervisory duties, his primary responsibilities were manual labor, which should have qualified him for overtime pay under both federal and state laws.
The plaintiff's accusations are rooted in what he describes as a deliberate misclassification by Amerikoa to evade paying due wages. Initially hired on an hourly basis, Pedraza claims he was later offered a $75,000 annual salary to supervise two employees. However, he states that he never received this agreed salary; instead, he was paid significantly less—$45,000 per year initially—and only after complaints did it increase slightly to $55,000. Furthermore, Pedraza argues that even when acting as a supervisor for just one employee after another left the company, his role did not meet the criteria for exemption from overtime under FLSA guidelines.
Pedraza seeks various forms of relief from the court. He demands compensation for unpaid wages along with liquidated damages equal to those unpaid amounts under both FLSA and IMWA provisions. Additionally, he requests punitive damages and interest on these sums. Beyond financial compensation, Pedraza also asks for injunctive relief to prevent ongoing unlawful employment practices by Amerikoa Ingredients LLC.
Representing Enrique Pedraza is attorney John C. Ireland from The Law Office of John C. Ireland based in South Elgin, Illinois. The case is being presided over in the Northern District of Illinois under Case No. 1:24-cv-11537.