Noel Cintron, Trump’s driver for more than 25 years, says he’s owed 3,300 hours of uncompensated overtime

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Donald Trump’s former personal driver has sued the president’s family business for thousands of hours of unpaid overtime, according to a lawsuit filed in New York on Monday.

Noel Cintron, who worked as Trump’s driver for more than 25 years, said he was owed 3,300 hours of uncompensated overtime from his last six years on the job.

Cintron is suing the Trump Organization for lost wages and damages, stating: “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.”

Cintron also claimed his salary was increased just twice over a period of 15 years – from $62,700 in 2003 to $68,000 in 2006, and then to $75,000 in 2010. The second raise, he added, came with a caveat: Cintron alleged he was forced to surrender his health benefits, “saving Trump approximately $17,866.08 per year in health insurance premiums”.

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Cintron’s lawyers said he is owed roughly $350,000. Under the statute of limitations, he can only seek compensation dating back six years. Cintron was replaced in his role by the US Secret Service in 2016, when Trump became the Republican presidential nominee.

Larry Hutcher, one of Cintron’s attorneys, said Trump’s “complete disregard for the rights of workers has defined his disgraceful record in business”.

“Donald Trump has proclaimed himself as a champion of working men and women, but nothing could be further from the truth,” Hutcher said in a statement. “Noel Cintron worked for him days, nights and weekends, but year after year Trump refused to pay him the wages he had earned.”

The allegations mirror numerous other claims made by contractors and workers for Trump’s companies, who have frequently gone to court over claims of unpaid wages or fees.

A spokesperson for the Trump Organization did not immediately return a request for comment.

