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State sues over unpaid wages
By Peter H. MILLIKEN
YOUNGSTOWN
The Ohio Department of Commerce has sued a Canfield employer for $105,606, saying it failed to pay the state minimum wage of $8.10 per hour to 40 of its employees or former employees for the work they performed for the company.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday against Globo Mobile Technologies Inc. of Seville Drive. Two telephone numbers that had been listed for the company were intercepted by recordings saying they had been disconnected.
The complaint was filed in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court by Jonathan Khouri, a Cleveland-based assistant Ohio attorney general, on behalf of the Ohio Department of Commerce. The case is assigned to Judge John M. Durkin.
The lawsuit asks for $34,990 in wages, $69,980 in damages and $635 in overtime payments, with the overtime having been incurred by only three of the 40 employees.
For each employee, the damages were listed as double the wages the complaint said were owed.
The lawsuit followed by six months a Jan. 13 letter to the company from Stephen Clegg, Ohio Department of Commerce wage and hour administration bureau chief, which demanded payment.
The letter listed by employee name the amounts of wages, damages and overtime.
Clegg’s letter warned that, after 30 days, any unpaid wage amounts would be forwarded to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office for collection.
Kate Hanson, a public information officer for the state attorney general’s office, said the employees worked in a variety of jobs, including information technology and account manager positions.