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HomeMy WebLinkAbout13-3082 Supreme C. nnsylvania Cou O_ mo leas For Prothonotary Use Only: ? Docket No: County 13 — 3082. The information collected on this form is used solely for court administration purposes. This form does not supplement or replace the filing and service ofpleadings or other papers as required by law or rules of court. Commencement of Action: S El Complaint O Writ of Summons O Petition ® Transfer from Another Jurisdiction ® Declaration of Taking E C Lead Plaintiff's Name: Lead Defendant's Name: Mary Wagner ASN /Pacific Child & Family Associates, LLC T Dollar Amount Requested: 0within arbitration limits I Are money damages requested? M Yes ®No (check one) ®outside arbitration limits EO f N Is this a Class Action Suit? ® Yes IM No Is this an MDJAppeal? [3 Yes El No I A Name of Plaintiff /Appellant's Attorney: Ronald T. Tomasko, Esquire and Cayla B. Henn, Esquire III` ® Check here if you have no attorney (are a Self- Represented [Pro Se] Litigant) i _ Nature of the Case Place an "X" to the left of the ONE case category that most accurately describes your PRIMARY CASE. If you are making more than one type of claim, check the one that you consider most important. 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Tomasko, Esquire P.A. I.D. No. 61190'' C `' Cayla B. Henn, Esquire P.A. I.D. No. 310026'' _ = -,: JSDC Law Offices 134 Sipe Avenue `? _ Hummelstown, Pennsylvania 17036 rtt(a)jsdc.com Attorneys for Plaintiff COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY CIVIL ACTION MARY WAGNER, Civil Action No. Plaintiff, 1 _ 3Os 2. /► / C T'� V. JURY TRIAL DEMANDED ASN /PACIFIC CHILD & FAMILY ASSOCIATES, LLC Defendant. NOTICE YOU HAVE BEEN SUED IN COURT. If you wish to defend against the claims set forth in the following pages, you must take action within twenty (20) days after this Complaint and Notice are served, by entering a written appearance personally or by attorney and filing in writing with the Court your defenses or objections to the claims set forth against you. You are warned that if you fail to do so the case may proceed without you and a judgment may be entered against you by the Court without further notice for any money claimed in the Complaint or for any other claim or relief requested by the Plaintiff. You may lose money or property or other rights important to you. YOU SHOULD TAKE THIS PAPER TO YOUR LAWYER AT ONCE. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A LAWYER, GO TO OR TELEPHONE THE OFFICE SET FORTH BELOW. THIS OFFICE CAN PROVIDE YOU WITH INFORMATION ABOUT HIRING A LAWYER. IF YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO HIRE A LAWYER, THIS OFFICE MAY BE ABLE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH INFORMATION ABOUT AGENCIES THAT MAY OFFER LEGAL SERVICES TO ELIGIBLE PERSONS AT A REDUCED FEE OR NO FEE. Cumberland County Bar Association 32 South Bedford Street Carlisle, PA 17013 � ?` vir C (717) 249 -3166 / A LL/69Z z PLAINTIFF'S COMPLAINT Now comes Plaintiff, Mary Wagner, by and through her counsel, JSDC Law Offices, brings this action against the Defendant, ASN/Pacific Child & Family Associates, LLC, in support of which she avers as follows: Parties 1. Plaintiff, Mary Wagner, is an adult residing at 4475 Kile Drive, Enola, Pennsylvania 17025. 2. Defendant, ASN /Pacific Child & Family Associates, LLC, is a California limited liability corporation with a corporate address of 505 North Brand Avenue, Suite 100, Glendale, California 91203. Defendant conducts business in Cumberland County. Venue and Jurisdiction 3. Venue is proper in this Court in that the cause of action set forth herein arises out of an incident that occurred in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. 4. This action is brought under Section 9.1 of the Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law, 43 P.S. § 260.9a, for unpaid overtime wages required under Section 4(c) of the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act of 1968, 43 P.S. § 333.104(c). Factual Background 5. Plaintiff began working for Autism Services North ( "ASN ") in March 2009. 6. At that time, ASN was independent of Pacific Child and Family Associates, LLC. 2 7. ASN as a company recruited professionals to work with autistic children and facilitated the payment for services between the professional and insurer. 8. Plaintiff's duties for ASN involved facilitating these claims. Specifically, Plaintiff facilitated the payment from the insurer to the provider by reviewing Explanation of Benefit forms from the providers, entering data into QuickBook, and sending information to the insurer. Plaintiff had no discretion in the performance of these tasks. 9. Plaintiff performed some work for ASN on claim denials. She reviewed the denials and attempted to facilitate payments. Plaintiff needed permission to take any action on these claims and had no discretion in the performance of these tasks. 10. During her initial time at ASN, Plaintiff spent a small portion of her time performing bookkeeping work for ASN. This work involved processing payroll, which took less than one hour twice a month, balancing the checkbook, which took approximately thirty minutes once a month, and paying the credit card, which took less than thirty minutes once a month. Plaintiff had no discretion in the performance of these tasks. In total, Plaintiff spent less than three hours each month performing these tasks. 11. On or around August 4, 2011, Pacific Child and Family Associates, LLC, purchased ASN. At that time, Plaintiff's duties did not change. 12. Plaintiff continued to perform other duties facilitating the payment of bills from providers and reviewing claim denials. 13. Plaintiff continued to perform some bookkeeping work for the Defendant, still less than three hours of work per month, for some period of time, but eventually ceased performing these tasks. 3 14. On March 9, 2012, Plaintiff received an email from Joe Maiman, Human Resources Generalist of Pacific Child and Family Associates, LLC, stating, in relevant part: Because of the type of work you are doing, we need to change your status to non- exempt, which will make you eligible for overtime premiums. This change will be effective as of 2/16/12, and as such, I will process your 27 hours of overtime with today's payroll. 15. Plaintiff's duties did not change or alter as of February 16, 2012 (2/16/12). 16. From Plaintiff's date of hire through February 16, 2012, she received a salary and was not compensated for overtime hours. 17. From Plaintiff's date of hire through February 16, 2012, she frequently worked overtime hours. 18. Plaintiff was terminated on February 25, 2013. Cause of Action: Failure to Pay Overtime under the Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law and the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act of 1968 19. Plaintiff incorporates by reference the allegations set forth in the preceding paragraphs of the Complaint as though set forth herein. 20. This claim is instituted under the Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law, and specifically, 43 P.S. § 260.9a, which allows an individual to bring an action for the recoupment of wages owed. 21. The Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act of 1968 mandates the payment "for overtime not less than one and one -half times the employe's regular rate." 43 P.S. § 333.104(c). 22. Plaintiff does not fall under any of the exemptions to the overtime mandate, as set forth in 43 P.S. § 333.105. 23. Plaintiff frequently worked more than forty hours in a week for the Defendants, but did not receive overtime wages prior to February 16, 2012. 4 24. Defendant was aware that Plaintiff was working more than forty hours per week and was not being paid overtime. In fact on May 10, 2012, her supervisor, Paul Eschbach sent an email to Mark Russell, CFO of ASN /Pacific Child and Family, which stated, in relevant part: Keep in mind that since June of 2011, Mary has been putting in almost 60 hours a week non -stop, with only a few days off, building reports for Great Point, and then working on the transition, staying late at anyone's request to get work done. Most of that work was done without overtime pay but she didn't fuss. 25. Requiring and permitting a non - exempt employee to work over forty hours a week without paying overtime wages violated the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act and the Plaintiff is entitled to recover those unpaid overtime wages under the Wage Payment and Collection Law, along with liquidated damages, costs, and attorney's fees. Prayer Accordingly, Plaintiff prays that Defendants be cited to appear and answer in this action, and that upon the evidence and applicable law, the Court enter the judgment: A. A declaratory judgment against the Defendant that it violated the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act by failing to compensate the Plaintiff for overtime work; B. An award to the Plaintiff against the Defendant for compensation at time and one -half her hourly wage for all hours she worked over forty in each week to the extent allowed by law; C. An award to the Plaintiff against the Defendant for liquidated damages equal to twenty - five percent (25 %) of the total amount of wages due, or five hundred dollars ($500), whichever is greater; 5 D. An award to the Plaintiff against the Defendant of all attorney's fees and costs associated with pursuing this claim. A d, Esquire orney .. o. 90 Cayla B. Henn, Esquire Attorney I.D. No. 310026 JSDC Law Offices P.O. BOX 650 Hershey, PA 17033 Date: �� v 1 2013 Attorneys for the Plaintiff, Mary Wagner 6 i VERIFICATION I, Mary Wagner, have read the foregoing Complaint and verify that the facts set forth herein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information and belief. To the extent that the content of the foregoing document and/or its language is that of counsel, I have relied upon counsel in making this Verification. I hereby acknowledge that any false statements made herein are made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa. C.S. 4904 relating to unsworn falsification to authorities. Dated: /ate Mary Wagner Mary Wagner In the Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland County,Pennsylvania No. 13-3 082 Civil Term vs ASN/Pacific Child & Family Associates, LLC PRAECIPE to WITHDRAW COMPLAINT with PREJUDICE The Plaintiff,Mary Wagner,respectfully requests that this Court enter an Order withdrawing her Complaint with prejudice in the above-referenced case due to the fact that the parties have amicably settled the dispute. -< OD cp <C) David D.Buell,Prothonotary (9 S 2013 A Attorney Info: ''' / Ronald T.Tomasko,Esquire Attorney for plaintiff Cayla B.Henn,Esquire JSDC Law Offices P.O.Box 650 Hershey,PA 17033 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA MARY WAGNER, : NO. 13-3082 : CIVIL ACTION Plaintiff v. • ASN/PACIFIC CHILD & FAMILY ASSOCIATES, LLC, Defendants The undersigned hereby certifies that a true and correct copy of the Plaintiff's Praeci e to Withdraw Complaint with Prejudice was served via first class mail postage prepaid this 3 day of July, 2013 on the following: David D. Buell, Prothonotary Mark Dorenfeld, CEO Cumberland County Courthouse Pacific Child and Family Associates One Courthouse Square, Suite 100 505 North Brand Blvd., Suite 1000 Carlisle, PA 17013 Glendale, CA 91203 JSDC Law Offices Ron d T. Tomasko, Esquire Pa. ID #61190 Cayla B. Henn, Esquire Pa. ID # 310026 P.O. Box 650 Hershey, PA 17033 (717) 533-3280