It was a snow job.
A New Yorker who signed up to shovel snow this winter claimed he’s yet to be fully paid for his work — collecting a measly $300 instead of what he thought would be a $3,600 windfall.
Jacob Jackson signed up to be an emergency snow shoveler in November, when pay was listed as $19.14 per hour, with overtime pay of $28.71, he said in a Manhattan Federal Court lawsuit against the city.
He was called to help clear city streets and sidewalks once in December and another 10 days in January, working out of a Sanitation Department garage in Brooklyn.
On Feb. 23 — after the city was slammed by a massive blizzard which dumped more than 19 inches of snow — the pay jumped to $30 an hour, $45 an hour with overtime.
Even though Jackson logged 40 hours of back-breaking shoveling between Feb. 22 and Feb. 28, he was paid at the $19.14 rate — for only eight hours of work — collecting just $153.12, he said in court papers.
“The remaining 32 hours being completely unpaid,” he said in the legal filing.
Jackson received only one other paycheck before that — also for $153.12 — for shoveling earlier that same month. He allegedly hasn’t been paid at all for his work in December and January, he said in the filing.
In all, he worked about 21 days and 168 hours but claimed he’s only been paid for a measly 16 hours, according to the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages.
Adding insult to injury the pay was also weeks late, with one check coming a month after he got the job, Jackson claimed.
The lack of and incorrect pay violates the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, he alleged.
“Emergency snow shovelers brace the cold and snow to keep our streets clean and safe but are not paid for months or sometimes not paid at all for their hard work,” attorney Innessa Huot, who reps Jackson, said in a statement. “We are determined to vindicate their rights and make sure they are paid properly.”
The Sanitation Department declined comment on Jackson’s allegations.
“We are incredibly thankful for the thousands of New Yorkers who answered the call to serve our City following two historic snowstorms this winter, and thousands of checks have been mailed to these hard-working people,” spokesman Joshua Goodman said in a statement. “Anyone who is still waiting on payment should contact us via email at SnowShovelerInquiry@dsny.nyc.gov.”
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