Overtime suit filed in state court against city of Apopka; charge dismissed in federal suit

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While five former city of Apopka employees have filed a lawsuit in state circuit court claiming the city didn’t pay overtime due them, the city successfully had one count dismissed in a separate federal court suit filed that was entered by one of the state-suit members.

Susan Reed was joined by four other former hourly wage city employees who filed the overtime suit on May 19, claiming the city automatically deducted 30 minutes a day from their work pay even though they didn’t actually take a lunch break on most days.

Joining Reed in that suit are David Wright, Stephen Kapaldo, Patricia Arnold, and Glen Brooks.

It is Brooks who, in March, filed a federal lawsuit against the city, citing three charges, one of which was that the city defamed him by publishing what the suit says were “false statements (that) were communicated to the community and media.”

When the city filed on May 1 to have that defamation charge dropped, Brooks’ attorney, former city attorney Frank Kruppenbacher, didn’t respond to the city’s request within the required 14 days so federal Judge Roy B. Dalton Jr. of Orlando granted the city’s motion.

However, two other counts still remain in Brooks’ federal lawsuit. In the other counts, Brooks claims the city deprived him of “his rights to freedom of expression” after he filed a whistleblower report with the state in regard to issues at the city’s wastewater treatment plant.

“Plaintiff’s speech on the subject matter of the whistleblower report and the filing of the whistleblower report were matters of public concern,” Brooks’ federal suit states.

In the second charge on the federal suit, Brooks says the city retaliated against him by firing him after he filed the whistleblower report.

“Plaintiff suffered retaliatory actions because of the information disclosed and objections by plaintiff he made verbally to his supervisor and in his whistleblower report,” the lawsuit states.

According to the lawsuit, Brooks is seeking an unspecified amount of money for “emotional anguish and humiliation.”

Also earlier in May, the city answered Brooks’ charges, denying all of them.

Read more of this story, featured on page 1A of the Apopka Chief’s Friday, June 2, issue.