A statewide collective action has been filed in Florida against the Asplundh Construction Corporation. The action is brought on behalf of all Florida residents who are either currently, or have been, employed by Asplundh as hourly wage earners and who have not been paid overtime by the company for all hours worked beyond 40 per week. The employees are seeking back pay, statutory damages as well as liquidated damages, injunctive and declaratory relief. As a collective action, all potential claimants are required to voluntarily "opt-in" in order to be considered a member of the class. The employees have requested that the court issue notice to all potential claimants.

According to employees, Asplundh routinely requires them to work in excess of 40 hours per week. However, employees claim that the international tree specialist does not have any provisions in place to pay workers proper overtime compensation under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Under the act, all "non-exempt" employees are entitled to a minimum of time and a half for all hours worked in excess of 40 per week. Generally, "non-exempt" workers are those who are paid on an hourly basis and do not perform managerial or executive tasks. The employees, most of which are hourly laborers, claim that they are "non-exempt" and are entitled to overtime compensation. The employees also claim that Asplundh's denial of overtime was willful and intentional, entitling them to liquidated damages in addition to back pay and statutory damages.