Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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NEW YORK -- The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Zablocki Industries Inc., doing business as Aunt Heddy’s Bakery, Brooklyn, N.Y., for alleged willful violations of the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Also named in the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on Jan. 26, 2006, is company president and owner, Richard Zablocki. An investigation by the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division found that eight employees of the bakery were required to work more than 40 hours in many workweeks without being compensated properly for the overtime hours worked. The investigation also found that the company did not keep proper records of the number of hours employees worked and the wages they were paid.

The FLSA requires that covered employees be paid at least the applicable minimum wage as well as one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 per week. The law also requires that accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment be maintained.

“This legal action,” said Philip Jacobson, Manhattan district director for the Wage and Hour Division, “demonstrates that we will not hesitate to file suit against employers who willfully violate the law by failing to properly pay their employees for all the hours they work.”

The department’s lawsuit charges Heddy’s Bakery and Richard Zablocki with willful violations of the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the FLSA since at least January 11, 2003. The suit asks the court to permanently enjoin the defendants from future violations of the law and to order them to pay employees back wages due, along with an equal amount in liquidated damages or prejudgment interest.

The Manhattan District Office of the Wage and Hour Division conducted this investigation and the department’s lawsuit was filed by the Regional Solicitor’s Office in New York City. For more information about the provisions of the FLSA, contact the Department of Labor’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243) or the Manhattan office at 212-264-8185. Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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