On November 29, 2016, a former patient care consultant for Body Sculpt International, Inc. ("Body Sculpt") d/b/a Sono Bello, filed a proposed collective action lawsuit in Georgia federal court seeking overtime wages. Sono Bello is a medical-cosmetic facility that specializes in body countering and facial rejuvenation, offering services such as laser-assisted liposuction and wrinkle reduction.
The lawsuit alleges that Body Sculpt/Sono Bello misclassified its patient care consultants as exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA) overtime requirements, and as a result, failed to pay them overtime wages when they worked more than forty (40) hours in a workweek. The lawsuit seeks to recover unpaid wages, plus liquidated (double) damages. This case is entitled, Esteppe v. Body Sculpt International, LLC d/b/a Sono Bello, Court File No. 1:16-cv-04407 (Northern District of Georgia).
Plaintiff's attorney Matthew C. Helland stated, "Sono Bello's patient care consultants are scheduled to work long hours, and consistently work well over 40 hours in a week. By misclassifying their consultants as exempt employees, Sono Bello does not pay its consultants overtime pay we believe they are owed. Through this lawsuit, we seek to get them the pay they are owed under the law."
The plaintiffs in the case are represented by Matthew C. Helland and Brittany Bachman Skemp, from Nichols Kaster, PLLP, which has offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota and San Francisco, California. Additional information regarding the lawsuit can be found here or by calling Nichols Kaster, PLLP at (877) 344-4628.
The firm is led by its partners, who are regularly selected by their peers as Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers, and are leaders in numerous professional organizations, such as the National Employment Lawyers Association, the ABA Federal Labor Standards Legislation Committee, the Practising Law Institute, Minnesota National Employment Lawyers Association, Public Justice, and the Council for the Minnesota State Bar Association's Consumer Litigation Section.