Security officers from S.C. School for the Deaf and Blind were stiffed by contractor, lawsuit says
SPARTANBURG, S.C. June 9 2019
Several security officers from the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind said a contractor stiffed them. Now, they’re suing for thousands of dollars in back pay and damages.
The lawsuit alleges this happened in 2015 and 2016. The suit was filed in Spartanburg County in the Spring of 2018.
Robyn Adams told 7 News she’s worked in security at the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind for nearly eight years. She said everything changed when City Security won a bid from the state to take over security at the school, and she became their employee in 2015.
“It happened our first paycheck,” Adams said.
According to the lawsuit, the money for the contract was paid to City Security upfront.
Adams said her pay became irregular for doing the same job, and in July, her paychecks stopped coming.
“I had just had a baby, so I kind of almost went through postpartum,” she said.
She said she’s the breadwinner, and it put pressure on her family. She kept working anyway.
“Our kids are deaf, blind, and multi-handicapped, and we just make sure that they are completely safe on that campus no matter what,” she said.
She said the school tried to help, but it was out of their hands. The company’s owners, Darryl and Lisa Triplett, were nowhere to be found. Adams said they owe her about $3,000 and owe more than $15,000 in total to other employees from the School for the Deaf and Blind.
Some of them have hired local attorney John Reckenbeil to help go after the Tripletts.
“That ends now,” Reckenbeil said. “[It’s] not acceptable.”
He said they hired a private investigator to track down the Tripletts in order to serve the lawsuit.
“Since then, there’s been no contact whatsoever,” he said.
The plaintiffs are seeking three times the amount of money they say they are owed in back pay, as well as attorney and court fees.
7 News was unable to reach the Tripletts for comment.
The South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind declined to comment.
WSPA
