A former instructor has sued a driving school for allegedly steering his wages wide of state and federal requirements.
Christopher W. Kalinski accused Dutchess School of Driving Inc. and co-owners Isa Marinaro and Maria Dominijanni of violating state and federal overtime compensation laws, in a class action complaint filed Sept. 10 in U.S. District Court, White Plains.
Ultimately, the complaint states, Kalinski was “terminated … in retaliation for complaining.”
White Plains attorney Alexandra L. Robins did not immediately reply to an email asking for the school’s responses to the allegations.
Dutchess School of Driving, Hopewell Junction, bills itself as “Hudson Valley’s Leading Driving Training Center!” It offers training for driving cars, buses, trucks and tractor-trailers. Its instructors are certified by the state and also undergo intensive in-house training, according to the school’s website.
Kalinski, of Wappingers Falls, says he began working for the school in October 2021. Initially he was paid $27 an hour and later $30 an hour.
He received no written notice of his pay and overtime compensation rates, according to the complaint, and he was paid every two weeks despite qualifying for weekly pay as a manual laborer.
When he was paid overtime, the paystub indicated a rate of $22.50 per hour when, he claims, it should have been $36 to $39.77 per hour.
Kalinski says he told Marinaro this past February that the overtime rate was incorrect and that he was owed more. On May 5, he received an email from the payroll company admitting a mistake and notifying him that he would receive a check for $453.29, covering the past year.
The payroll company characterized the check as miscellaneous reimbursement, according to the complaint, but did not explain how the payment was calculated.
Kalinski says he told his bosses that the payment was insufficient and he asked for a breakdown on how the overtime was calculated.
Three hours after he tried to speak with Marinaro on May 12, the complaint states, she fired him. His termination letter purportedly said he was fired for abandoning his job duties that day.
Kalinski filed the complaint as a class action on behalf of himself and more than 40 current and past employees who he claims also were wronged.
He accused the school and its owners of failures to pay overtime, pay manual workers weekly, and to provide proper wage notices and paystubs for all employees. He accused them of retaliation against himself and of failure to pay him for three sick days.
He is demanding $10,000 for each employee and $20,000 for himself for retaliation.
Kalinski is represented by Warwick attorney Jennifer Echevarria.
