US Department of Labor sues Puerto Rico security guard company for misclassifying employees as independent contractors, denying overtime

Date of action:                       Sept. 24, 2024 

Type of action:                      Complaint

Defendants:                           Optimus Service Group LLC

                                                     Jorge Rivera Berrios

Allegations:                            After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation, the department filed suit against San Juan-based security guard company Optimus Service Group LLC and its principal Jorge Rivera Berrios for alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The complaint alleges the employers willfully misclassified at least 254 current and former security guards as independent contractors, failed to pay the required overtime rates and did not make, keep and maintain complete and accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other employment conditions. Filed by the department’s Office of the Solicitor, the suit seeks back wages, liquidated damages and injunctive relief to prevent ongoing and future violations. View the complaint. 

                                                Optimus provides security guard services to an array of businesses across the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, including in residential communities, cannabis dispensaries and other commercial entities. In 2015, the department sued Berrios and another security guard firm he owned for the same violations, obtaining a consent judgment that required them to pay more than $166,000 in back wages and liquidated damages and admit their misclassification violations.

Quotes:                                   “Employers should know that the U.S. Department of Labor takes misclassifying employees as independent contractors very seriously,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Jeffrey S. Rogoff in New York. “Attempts to avoid complying with the law will be met with litigation to ensure that workers receive the wages they’re owed.”

“This isn’t the first time Jorge Rivera Berrios has misclassified security guards as independent contractors unlawfully. He and his company, Optimus Service Group LLC, must be held accountable for their failure to pay workers their legally earned wages by wrongly classifying hundreds of security guards as independent contractors instead of as employees,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jose Vazquez-Fernandez in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.

Court:                                     U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.

Docket Number:                    3:24-cv-1452

Background:                          Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, and misclassification of workers as independent contractors, as well as a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions – regardless of immigration status – and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Download the agency’s Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices – available in English and Spanish – to ensure hours and pay are accurate.