Ex-SeaWorld employee sues theme park for unpaid overtime

A retired SeaWorld employee is suing in federal court and accusing the theme park of not paying employees overtime for working on their lunch breaks and before their shifts in order to cut labor expenses.

Kenneth Ward filed the lawsuit seeking class action status in U.S. District Court’s Orlando division. Ward is suing for unpaid overtime, attorneys fees and other relief.

Ward worked in the plant engineering department from 1989 until his retirement in March.

In his lawsuit, Ward said he clocked off during his lunch but his break was often interrupted by co-workers, supervisors or unfinished paperwork. They often did not get “a bona fide meal break” or paid for their work.

In a July 2020 email to employees, the Vice President of Park Operations told employees to clock out for lunch. However, if employees can’t take an interrupted lunch due to being called on their radios, they must clock back in, and the company will give them a break later on, the lawsuit said.

“Plaintiff and the putative class members are entitled to the applicable overtime wage rate for each overtime hour they suffered and permitted to work by Defendant,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit also said employees often dealt with security issues, fire alarms and reported problems to department supervisors, all before or after their shifts so they were not paid either.

It all added up to about three extra hours of work a week, Ward said.

The lawsuit accused SeaWorld of being aware that employees weren’t getting paid properly for their overtime work and said the company was violating the Fair Labor Standards Act.

SeaWorld’s “failure to pay Plaintiff and the FLSA Collective for all hours worked was due to a corporate policy to limit labor expenditures, preserve corporate profits, and for the convenience of its operations,” the lawsuit said.

Both SeaWorld and Ward’s attorney, Noah Storch, did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

Unlike Disney World, SeaWorld is not unionized.