New York City, NY - A chain of supermarkets doing business in Brooklyn and Queens, N.Y., and two officers of the companies have agreed to pay a total of $127,292 in overtime back wages and interest to settle a U.S. Labor Department lawsuit alleging violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
According to Philip Jacobson, district director for the department's Wage and Hour Division in New York City, an investigation found 96 employees were paid straight time for overtime hours and that the employers did not maintain proper records of employees' work hours and rates of pay. Jacobson noted that this investigation was conducted with the cooperation of the N,Y. State Department of Labor, Division of Labor Standards.
A consent judgment prohibits the defendants from future violations of the minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the FLSA. The court orderalso prohibits the defendants from taking retaliatory action against any employees who exercise their rights under the law and orders them to pay a total of $127,292 in overtime back wages and interest in ten installments. The back wage payments cover the period between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2005.
According to the judgment, the court will appoint a receiver to collect the back wages in the event the defendants fail to make any of the payments. The receiver would have the power to seize and liquidate any of the defendants' assets in order to satisfy the back wage payment order. Finally, the defendants are ordered to advise their employees, in English and Spanish, of their rights under the FLSA, the terms of the judgment, and their rights to engage in protected activities under the FLSA without fear of retaliation. Official posters must also be posted where all employees may view them. The defendants agreed to the entry of the consent judgment without admitting or denying any violations of the FLSA.
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