Allegations of unpaid overtime and workplace retaliation have been brought forward in a newly filed lawsuit targeting an event production agency and its management. The legal action claims that employees were systematically denied proper compensation for long work hours and faced adverse consequences after raising concerns about their pay.
The complaint was filed by Christopher Moinian on March 13, 2026, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Events Group International Inc., which operates under the name Eventique, along with manager Amelia Friedman.
According to the filing, Moinian worked as an “Event Producer” at Eventique beginning January 2, 2024. He alleges that he regularly worked more than 40 hours per week but was not paid overtime wages as required by both the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York Labor Law (NYLL). The complaint states that this practice was part of a broader policy affecting other non-managerial employees such as event planners and technicians. Moinian claims he made repeated requests to management for full compensation but these were refused.
The lawsuit outlines several key issues: misclassification of employees as exempt from overtime rules despite performing primarily manual or technical duties; failure to provide adequate wage statements or notices; and a company policy that allegedly conditioned overtime pay on accumulating 1,000 overtime hours in a single year—a threshold described in the complaint as “illusory” with no procedures to track progress toward it. The plaintiff argues that such policies deprived workers of their lawful earnings.
Moinian also asserts that his employment status was not independent contractor but rather employee under both federal and state definitions due to direct supervision, set schedules, control over pay rates by management, and lack of independent discretion in job performance. The complaint describes how he spent about 40% of his time traveling for events without additional compensation for travel hours.
Retaliation is another central claim in the case. Moinian alleges that after repeatedly voicing objections to unpaid overtime during the busy season from September through November 2025, he became subject to increased scrutiny by Friedman. This included demands to be copied on all communications, constant monitoring of his activities, removal from meetings, isolation from colleagues, and efforts by management to solicit negative feedback about his performance. On November 13, 2025, Moinian was terminated during what was presented as a routine check-in meeting but instead involved immediate dismissal under the stated reason of “reorganization.” However, weeks later he observed a job posting nearly identical to his former position while another employee with his same title remained employed—facts cited in the complaint as evidence that the reorganization rationale was pretextual.
The legal filing seeks certification of both a collective action under FLSA for similarly situated employees dating back six years prior to filing and a class action under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 for affected workers under NYLL. Relief sought includes unpaid overtime wages; liquidated damages; statutory penalties for failure to provide wage notices or statements; damages for retaliation including lost wages and emotional distress; pre-judgment interest at nine percent; attorneys’ fees; costs; injunctive relief prohibiting further unlawful practices; declaratory judgment on violations; designation of class representatives; and any other relief deemed appropriate by the court.
Attorneys Taimur Alamgir and Matthew Daidola of TA Legal Group PLLC represent Moinian along with other potential plaintiffs identified as FLSA Collective Plaintiffs and Class Members. The case is identified as Case No. 1:26-cv-02080.
Source: 126cv02080_Christopher_Moinian_v_Events_Group_Complaint_Southern_District_of_New_York.pdf
