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 documents alleged. 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 typically are 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...
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