Lawsuit: Urbana woman never received pay for overnight shifts monitoring security cameras

An Urbana resident claims she worked upwards of 50 hours a week while being promised compensation that never came, according to a lawsuit filed by U.S. District Court.

In the lawsuit, which was filed on May 11, Urbana resident Mary Duvall alleges that she was never paid for work monitoring security cameras for Champaign County resident Pamela Thorpe and Your Home Apartment Rentals, a Champaign County rental agency.

According to the lawsuit, Duvall was a tenant in late January 2016 when she was asked by Thorpe to monitor the security cameras in the building where she was living.

Duvall initially worked seven nights per week from 12 a.m. to 3 a.m. according to the lawsuit, but after an incident in March 2016 in which a tenant tried to damage the building, Duvall’s shift changed to eight or more hours each night and she began to work more than 50 hours a week. Later, Duvall’s shift changed to six hours per night.

According to the lawsuit, Thorpe said she would pay Duvall when her business partner returned from an overseas trip, but payment never came despite Duvall turning in her hours and information to Thorpe in 2017. In April of 2018, Thorpe told Duvall she no longer needed her services because she couldn’t afford to pay her, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit alleges that the lack of pay was a “willful violation of law,” and that Thorpe and Your Home Apartment Rentals have paid other employees for cleaning and maintenance.

The lawsuit, filed by Attorney Greg Mansell on behalf of Duvall, alleges that Thorpe and Your Home Apartment Rentals violated both Ohio and federal law by failing to pay minimum wage and overtime pay, and failing to pay by a regular payday.

According to court documents, the defendants have not yet responded to the lawsuit.

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