A man who spent five years as a rehab coach at a New York rehab facility has filed a federal lawsuit accusing the company he ran of failing to meet its minimum wage requirements.
According to the complaint, which was filed Wednesday, Richard S. Schilling worked as a counselor at Eagle Hill Rehabilitation Center, a private, for-profit facility in Queens, New York, for nearly five years.
The company told employees they were eligible for the federal minimum wage, which is $7.25 an hour.
But the complaint says that wasn’t the case, as employees were paid less than minimum wage for working a “dysfunctional” schedule.
According to a report by the Associated Press, Schilling was fired after only six months of employment.
The AP said the allegations against the company stem from a complaint filed by S. Daniel Abrahams, an attorney with the National Employment Law Project.
Schilling’s lawsuit, which has not been certified, seeks unspecified damages.
It also accuses the company of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act, which prohibits employers from retaliating against workers for engaging in protected speech.
The AP also said the complaint accuses Eagle Hill of engaging in “false, fraudulent, or misleading” advertising.
The suit alleges that Schilling, who has since been fired, was paid “in cash” after he was terminated and that he was not paid overtime.
It adds that Schiller was fired due to “failure to meet the company’s minimum wage.”
Schilling did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
In a statement, Eagle Hill said in part: “Eagle Hill has an ongoing investigation into these allegations.
We have terminated our employee Richard Schilling for violating our policy and procedures regarding pay.
The matter is being handled internally.”
The Associated Press also contacted Eagle Hill for comment, but was not immediately able to reach anyone.
In an interview with ABC News last year, Schill said he was frustrated with the way he was treated and that it took him “a year and a half to get to the point where I felt comfortable speaking to anybody in the industry about my experiences.”
The AP reported in December that Schill had filed a $1 million federal discrimination lawsuit against Eagle Hill and its board of directors.
The AP also reported in May that a former employee had accused Schill of sexual harassment and that a second former employee alleged that Schills used his position to coerce her into sex acts.