Former employee alleges West Fargo real estate company broke federal labor law – InForum
WEST FARGO — A West Fargo real estate company is facing a wrongful firing lawsuit after claims it fired an employee who said it was breaking federal labor law.
Joye Knutson of Fargo filed the federal civil suit on Nov. 3 against Epic Management. The complaint alleged Epic retaliated against Knutson after she told her supervisors she planned to document company activity that allegedly violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Those potential violations kept “a number of” Epic employees from being paid overtime that they deserved, court alleged documents. Knutson’s attorney, Steven Smith, declined to comment on how many employees were impacted.
She is seeking $75,000 in damages.
Epic hired Knutson to start working as the company’s vice president of human resources in late January, according to the complaint. She previously had 25 years of experience in her field.
Court documents described Epic as a rapidly growing company — it grew from 50 to 80 employees within the first few months of Knutson’s employment.
As Knutson reviewed employee files and job descriptions, she discovered Epic had misclassified some of employees as “exempt” under the Fair Labor Standards Act, court documents alleged. Exempt employees are typically those who hold leadership positions and are paid salary, while nonexempt employees are paid hourly and can qualify for overtime.
Knutson told her supervisor, CEO Amy Hass, about the misclassifications the complaint said. Hass said she was not familiar with the terms “exempt” and “nonexempt” but said labeling employees as “salaried” was “handy,” the complaint said.
Knutson tried to push Epic multiple times into developing a compliance plan, according to the complaint. She told Hass that making the changes was “very urgent” since the company knew of the potential overtime violations, the complaint said.
The company didn’t take action, according to the complaint. Hass allegedly told Knutson that Epic owner and President Todd Berning would “never go for this,” the complaint said.
Knutson claimed Berning yelled at her and called her a liar during a meeting about revamping the company’s employee performance appraisal schedule, the complaint alleged. Knutson quit but was asked to come back, the complaint said.
In June, Knutson told Hass she planned to document her findings of the misclassifications and her attempts to convince the company to fix the issue, the complaint said. That was meant to protect Knutson from individual liability, according to the complaint.
Berning told Knutson on July 19 that her employment with Epic was “not working out,” and she was fired, the complaint said.
Knutson has not filed a complaint with the US Department of Labor regarding the alleged overtime violations, Smith said. He declined to comment further on this story, saying the complaint speaks for itself.
A phone message left for Epic was not returned Friday, Nov. 11. The company has until Nov. 24 to respond to the lawsuit.
Epic invests in, develops and manages residential and commercial property in North Dakota and Minnesota. Its website showed a listing of 35 properties the company overseas.
One of those locations includes The Lights, a multi-use complex that houses a bar, restaurant, a clinic and other businesses in West Fargo. It also has more than 150 residential units, according to Epic’s website.
The Lights is also known for hosting outdoor concerts, its first noted for happening in August 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic. Hairball, a 1980s rock tribute band, performed at the venue during a time when cases were at an all-time high.