Upstate New York Town Sued for Making Employee Work On A Batmobile?
How many iconic cars can you think of from movies and television? The Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine, K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider, Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am are a few that come to mind immediately. At the top of any such list has to be the one Batman and Robin used to speed through Gotham City, the Batmobile.
Today the Batmobile is at the center of a lawsuit brought on by a former Upstate New York town employee that says he was forced to work on vintage, classic and antique cars without compensation. One of those vehicles is a replica Batmobile.
According to WXXI, the town of Greece, New York and some of its officials are being sued for $5 million. One former town employee, Robert Johnson, indicates that from 2014 until 2022 he was required to work at "Hot Rod Ranch" in Sweden, NY. without compensation. If he didn't, he claims he could have lost his job.
During that time, Bill Reilich (Johnson's supervisor) and Greece failed to pay Bobby Johnson the statutory amount of the required minimum wage. During that time, neither Greece nor Bill Reilich paid Bobby Johnson an overtime wage for the hours he was required to work at the Ranch in addition to the hours prescribed by Greece. - taken from the lawsuit
Syracuse.com reports that Robert Johnson worked for the town of Greece for 36 years before he was forced to retire in 2020. Johnson also claims that the town is withholding his retiree health care. The District Attorney is now investigating.