In a significant legal move, an employee has taken a stand against alleged labor violations by his employer, highlighting the importance of fair compensation practices. Travon Brown filed a complaint on February 28, 2025, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Laci Transport Inc. and its owner, Vladeta Markovitc. The lawsuit brings to light issues surrounding wage laws and employee classification.
Travon Brown, who worked as a Spotter Driver for Laci Transport Inc., claims that he was misclassified as an independent contractor rather than an employee. This misclassification allegedly led to him being denied overtime pay for hours worked beyond the standard 40-hour workweek during his employment from January 2018 to April 2019 and August/September 2019 to February 2021. Brown asserts that this denial of overtime pay violates several labor laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Illinois Minimum Wage Law, and the Chicago Minimum Wage Ordinance.
The plaintiff's complaint outlines how he was improperly categorized as a Shuttle Driver instead of a Spotter Driver in previous litigation involving Laci Transport Inc., which resulted in him missing out on back overtime wages paid to other Spotter Drivers. In a prior case titled Stingley v. Laci Transport, Inc., subclasses were established based on driver roles, leading to settlements for some but not all affected employees. Brown argues that his exclusion from the proper subclass list was either due to a mistake or potentially fraudulent actions by the defendants.
Brown is seeking several forms of relief from the court: back pay for unpaid overtime compensation dating back two years before filing this complaint; liquidated damages equal to unpaid compensation; treble damages under Illinois law; statutory interest; and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs incurred due to these alleged violations. He also requests that any statute of limitations defenses be nullified through equitable estoppel due to what he describes as defendants' "mistake" or fraud.
The legal representation for Travon Brown is provided by John W. Billhorn of Billhorn Law Firm located in Chicago, Illinois. The case is presided over by Honorable Judge John F. Kness with Case ID: 1:25-cv-02127.