Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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NEW YORK -- S.M.E. Holding Corp., a Bronx company doing business as Keyfood Supermarket #23, and company president Salvatore Bonavita have agreed to pay 11 employees a total of $60,987 in overtime back wages to resolve a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor alleging violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The Labor Department’s suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York following an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that disclosed violations of the FLSA’s overtime and recordkeeping provisions at the 3151 Westchester Ave. location.

The FLSA requires that covered employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage as well as time and one-half their regular rates of pay for hours worked beyond 40 per week. Additionally, the law requires that accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment be maintained, and prohibits retaliation against employees who exercise their rights under the law.

“Employers of low-wage workers should be well aware of their obligation under the law to pay their employees properly for all hours worked, and to accurately record those hours in their records,” said Philip Jacobson, director of the Wage and Hour Division’s district office in New York City.

A consent judgment signed by Judge Denise L. Cote prohibits the defendants from future violations of the FLSA’s minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping and anti-retaliation provisions. It orders the defendants to pay the back wages covering the period between Aug. 21, 2005, and Aug. 21, 2007. The defendants agreed to entry of the judgment while neither admitting nor denying the allegations contained in the Labor Department’s suit.

If the defendants fail to make the payments, the court will appoint a receiver with power to seize and liquidate their assets to satisfy the order. They are also ordered to advise employees, in Spanish and English, of their rights under the FLSA, and in particular their right to engage in protected activity without fear of retaliation. Finally, the defendants must post official posters explaining employee rights under the FLSA where all employees may view them.

The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division office in Manhattan investigated this case, and the suit was filed by the department’s Regional Solicitor’s Office in New York City. For more information about the requirements of the FLSA, contact the Wage and Hour Division office in Manhattan at 212-264-8185 or call the Department of Labor’s toll-free helpline at 866-US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet atwww.wagehour.dol.gov.

Chao v. S.M.E. Holding Corp. et al; Civil Action Number: 08-CV-6308-DLC

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