A former Niles Township High School School District 219 employee has filed a lawsuit against the district and its former head of technology, claiming he was at times required to work overtime but wasn’t paid for it – in violation of state and federal statutes, according to the suit filed Aug. 16 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division.
The lawsuit states that former employee Adnan Memon performed “network systems tasks” at two NTHS District 219 schools. He worked more than 40 hours in a week and was denied pay at a rate of time-and-a-half as required, according to the lawsuit.
According to District 219 officials, Memon worked in the district from June 2001 until April 2017. He was systems and network engineer, officials said.
Members of the school board approved 6-0 a resolution at the Sept. 13 school board meeting authorizing joint legal representation for the district and former Chief Technology Officer Guy Ballard.
School board member Naema Abraham was absent.
Following the meeting, Supt. Steven Isoye said the district has no further comment on the lawsuit at this time because of pending litigation.
“The board believes that it is in the best interest of the district for the district to cooperate with Mr. Ballard on the defense of this lawsuit, and for the district’s counsel to jointly represent the district and Mr. Ballard,” the resolution states.
Memon’s attorney, John W. Billhorn of the Chicago-based Billhorn Law Firm, did not return calls seeking comment.
Ballard served as chief technology officer from 1999 until retiring in 2016. The suit filed against him and the district allows other past and current employees to join in although no one else is named.
The lawsuit charges that the district and Ballard violated the Illinois Minimum Wage Law and the Fair Labor Standards Act. It does not ask for a specific amount of compensation.
But Memon seeks “back pay equal to the amount of all unpaid overtime compensation” for two years before the suit was filed, attorney fees and any additional relief the court decides is “appropriate.”
The lawsuit alleges the district and Ballard were aware that the district’s policies and practices violated statutes or they were implemented with a “reckless disregard” for whether they did so.
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