The man who worked as Donald Trump’s personal driver for more than 25 years sued the Trump Organization on Monday for unpaid work he did for the billionaire real estate mogul and his family. Noel Cintron told Bloomberg the Trump Organization owes him for roughly 3,300 hours of overtime work that went unpaid in the past six years, which is within the statute of limitations. He is seeking $200,000 in damages. Mr. Cintron, who resides in Queens, New York, said he would work for President Trump and his family starting at 7 a.m. every day prior to the Secret Service taking over transportation services for Mr. Trump. He worked about 55 hours per week. Mr. Cintron also said he was only given a raise twice. According to Bloomberg, he was paid $62,700 in 2003 and then bumped to $68,000 in 2006. In 2010, he was given a $7,000 raise, but his health insurance benefits were cut. Bloomberg also reports the former driver says the Trump Organization did not follow New York law by providing annual wage notices. The Trump Organization disputes the allegations. “Mr. Cintron was at all times paid generously and in accordance with the law. Once the facts come out we expect to be fully vindicated in court,” a spokesperson for the Trump Organization told The Washington Times. Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters Copyright © 2021 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.<doc-sep>Donald Trump looks out the window of his limousine after visiting Newick's Lobster House on April 27, 2011 in Dover, New Hampshire. (CNN) — President Donald Trump’s former personal driver of more than 20 years has filed a lawsuit against the Trump Organization alleging that he was forced to work “thousands of hours” of overtime without fair compensation. Noel Cintron, who served as the New York businessman’s driver until Trump received Secret Service protection in 2016, is demanding the recovery of compensation from his time working for the Trump Organization in a lawsuit filed Monday with the Supreme Court of New York. Cintron claims in the lawsuit that he worked an average of between 50 and 55 hours a week for Trump without fair compensation. A spokesperson for the Trump Organization told CNN, “Mr. Cintron was at all times paid generously and in accordance with the law. Once the facts come out we expect to be fully vindicated in court.” The White House directed a request for comment to the Trump Organization. The complaint describes Trump’s actions towards his driver as “an utterly callous display of unwarranted privilege and entitlement” and says that Trump demonstrated “callousness and cupidity” when he denied Cintron a raise. The complaint also refers to Trump as a “purported” billionaire. Cintron received a wage increase in 2010, though he alleges that it was because he was induced to surrender his health benefits, which were of higher value than the raise itself. According to the complaint, Cintron was not compensated for work he performed on holidays and vacations. Cintron also claims Trump did not provide annual wage notices or accurate wage statements, which are a requirement under New York labor law. By law, Trump is obligated to answer the complaint within 30 days. “Noel Cintron worked for him days, nights and weekends, but year after year Trump refused to pay him the wages he had earned,” said Larry Hutcher, one of Cintron’s attorneys, in a statement. He added that Trump’s treatment of Cintron shows how “a complete disregard for the rights of workers has defined his disgraceful record in business.” Trump has faced scrutiny regarding his wage practices in the past. In June 2016, architect Andrew Tesoro claimed that Trump cheated his firm out of thousands of dollars when it designed the clubhouse at Trump National Gold Club. Tesoro never filed a lawsuit against Trump. CNN’s Jim Acosta and Cristina Alesci contributed to this report.<doc-sep>Noel Cintron said the Trump Organization has not paid him for 3,300 hours of overtime in the last 6 years A New York man who said he was Donald Trump's personal driver for more than 20 years sued the U.S. president's company on Monday, claiming he was not paid for thousands of hours of overtime. Noel Cintron said the Trump Organization has not paid him for 3,300 hours of overtime in the last six years, the most he can sue for because of a statute of limitations, and has not given him a "meaningful" raise for 12 years. The Trump Organization confirmed that Cintron was an employee but said he had been paid "generously" and that the company would win in court. "In an utterly callous display of unwarranted privilege and entitlement and without even a minimal sense of noblesse oblige President Donald Trump has, through the defendant entities, exploited and denied significant wages to his own longstanding personal driver," the complaint said. Cintron is seeking unspecified damages, including punitive damages and other sums for alleged violations of federal and state labour laws. He said the 3,300 hours of overtime alone were worth more than $178,000, at a rate of $54.09 per hour. "Mr. Cintron was at all times paid generously and in accordance with the law," a spokeswoman for the Trump Organization said in an email. "Once the facts come out we expect to be fully vindicated in court." Donald Trump was not named as a defendant. Cintron's lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The lawsuit filed with the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan adds to a long list of litigation targeting the president or his businesses. Cintron said he worked as a driver for Trump, his family members and his businesses for more than a quarter century, averaging 50 to 55 hours weekly. He said he became part of Trump's security staff after the Secret Service took over driving responsibilities in 2016. Cintron said his salary was raised to $68,000 in 2006 and then to $75,000 in 2010, but the latter increase required him to surrender health benefits. He said this saved Trump $17,866 in annual health insurance premiums.The case is Cintron v Trump Organization LLC et al, New York State Supreme Court, New York County, No. 653424/2018. © Thomson Reuters 2018<doc-sep>
A man who worked as Donald Trump's personal driver for a quarter of a century filed suit against the president's company on Monday, claiming he wasn't paid for thousands of hours of overtime. In a harshly worded suit filed in New York State Supreme Court, Noel Cintron's lawyers claimed that Trump, "in an utterly callous display of unwarranted privilege and entitlement and without even a minimal sense of noblesse oblige … exploited and denied significant wages to his own longstanding personal driver." Cintron — who served as Trump’s personal driver for more than 25 years and gave up the responsibility after the Secret Service took on the role in 2016 — said he was owed overtime wages for about 3,300 hours of driving over the past six years. Over a 25-year period, Cintron says in the suit he worked 50 to 55 hours a week and earned a base salary but was never paid overtime for the time he worked beyond 40 hours per week, as his lawyers said is legally required. In total, Cintron is owed "in excess of $350,000," Larry Hutcher, one of Cintron lawyers, told NBC News. That sum comprises $180,000 in back wages, plus interest for six years, as well as punitive damages — which would be awarded if the judge found that Trump "knowingly failed to pay." The suit lists the Trump Organization as a defendant but not Trump himself. In a statement, Amanda Miller, a spokesperson for the Trump Organization said, "Mr. Cintron was at all times paid generously and in accordance with the law." "Once the facts come out we expect to be fully vindicated in court," Miller added. The White House referred questions about the suit to the Trump Organization. Cintron added in the suit that he hadn't been awarded a raise in nearly 10 years. "President Trump's further callousness and cupidity is further demonstrated by the fact that while he is purportedly a billionaire, he has not given his personal driver a meaningful raise in over 12 years!" Cintron’s lawyers wrote in the suit. Cintron was earning an annual salary of $62,700 in 2003, the suit said, before getting a bump to $68,000 in 2006. But in 2010, Trump "purported to increase plaintiff’s annual salary by $7,000, to a total of $75,000 per year" but that raise came at the expense of Cintron's health benefits, which cost the Trump Organization about $18,000 a year. He did not receive another raise after that, Cintron said.