A former employee has taken legal action against a Michigan-based company, alleging significant violations of labor laws. Jacqueline Milton filed a collective action complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan on November 24, 2025, accusing Divine Life Management, LLC of failing to pay proper overtime wages as mandated by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The lawsuit, led by plaintiff Jacqueline Milton, claims that Divine Life Management systematically failed to include various forms of non-discretionary remuneration such as performance bonuses in the calculation of employees’ regular rate of pay. This oversight allegedly resulted in employees being underpaid for overtime work. Milton worked as a main cook for the company from February 2024 to August 2025 and was compensated at an hourly rate of $17.51. However, she contends that her overtime compensation did not account for additional earnings like performance bonuses, which should have been included according to FLSA regulations.
Milton’s complaint highlights several key allegations against Divine Life Management. It asserts that the company’s practices affected not only her but also other hourly employees who were similarly shortchanged on their overtime pay. The complaint emphasizes that under FLSA guidelines, all forms of remuneration must be factored into an employee’s regular rate when calculating overtime pay. The plaintiff argues that this was not done and seeks backpay for unpaid wages along with liquidated damages and attorney fees.
In addition to monetary compensation, Milton is seeking a court order requiring Divine Life Management to provide a list of all current and former hourly employees from the past three years. This would facilitate notifying these individuals about the lawsuit and offering them an opportunity to join the collective action. The plaintiff believes there are potentially hundreds of affected employees who might benefit from this legal challenge.
Milton’s attorneys argue that Divine Life Management’s failure to comply with FLSA standards was willful and widespread across its operations. They claim that despite having a centralized payroll system capable of correctly calculating overtime rates, the company consistently neglected to do so. As such, they are requesting court-authorized notice to inform all similarly situated employees about their rights under this collective action.
The case is being handled by attorneys Jesse L. Young and Kathryn E. Milz from Sommers Schwartz P.C., with Young based in Kalamazoo and Milz operating out of Southfield, Michigan. The case has been assigned Case ID 1:25-cv-01549 but no judge or magistrate names have been provided yet.
Source: 125cv01549_Jacqueline_Milton_v_Divine_Life_Complaint_Western_District_of_Michigan.pdf
