Man says he was fired for wage claim

Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2000 | 10:33 a.m.

A former employee of Rhodes Design & Development Inc. of Las Vegas sued the home developer, alleging he was wrongfully terminated because he filed a claim for back overtime wages with the Labor Commissioner's office.

Thomas Abbott, who started as a customer service representative in 1996 and was promoted in 1999 to superintendent, a salaried supervisory position, alleged he was "routinely and regularly required ... to perform duties that were not part of his job description ... including working as a laborer beyond the normal eight-hour work day."

Abbott, who said he was fired last year after he asked Rhodes for backtime wages and told the company he had filed a formal claim for wages with the Labor Commissioner's office, said Rhodes violated Nevada labor law, "an illegal action which in turn provides (him) protection as a whistleblower."

Rhodes declined comment.

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