Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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NEW YORK -- Brooklyn-based Rossman Fruit & Vegetable Dist. Inc., a wholesale produce market, and its owner, Nitzan Rozman, have agreed to pay $675,000 in back wages and interest, following a U.S. Labor Department lawsuit alleging violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Both the company, doing business as Rossman Fruit Farms, and Rozman a/k/a Mike Rossman were named in the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in July 2004.

According to Philip Jacobson, district director for the department’s Wage and Hour Division in New York City, an investigation found 222 of the company’s warehouse employees were not paid proper minimum wage, overtime or both. The investigation also found the company did not maintain proper records of employees’ hours of work and rates of pay.

The FLSA requires that employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage and time and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked more than 40 per week. It also requires employers to keep accurate records of employees’ wages, hours, and other conditions of employment.

“This legal action,” said Jacobson, “demonstrates that the Labor Department is committed to protecting the rights of low wage workers and ensuring that such employees are properly paid for all the hours they work.”

A consent judgment prohibits the defendants from future violations of the minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the FLSA. The court order, signed by U.S. District Judge John Gleeson, also 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 $675,000 in minimum wage and overtime back wages and interest in installments. The back wage payments cover the period between July 1, 2001 and Nov. 18, 2005.

Jacobson noted that his office is currently attempting to locate some former employees of the company who are due back wages in this matter. Affected individuals should call 718-254-9410 and identify themselves as former Rossman employees.

If the defendants fail to make any of the payments, the court will appoint a receiver with power to seize and liquidate any of the defendants’ assets in order to satisfy the back wage payment order. Rozman and the company also are ordered to advise their employees 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 department’s Wage and Hour Division district office in New York City investigated this case, and the lawsuit was filed by the department’s Regional Solicitor’s Office in New York City. For more information about the requirements of the FLSA, call the Department of Labor’s toll-free help line at 1(866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

(Chao v Rossman Fruit & Vegetable Dist., Inc., et al; Civil Action Number 04-CV-2956)

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