Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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NEW YORK -- Three Queens, N.Y., supermarkets under common ownership have agreed to pay more than $19,000 in overtime back wages to 93 employees to settle a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit alleging violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Named in the department’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, were: Rockaway Produce Inc., doing business as Farm Boy Supermarket (127-20 128th St., Woodhaven), 101 Avenue Meat and Produce Company, doing business as Keyfood (123-12 101st Ave., Richmond Hill), Farm Boy Supermarket Inc., doing business as Keyfood (108-16 Liberty Ave., Jamaica), as well as owners Jin Willie Park, Chon W. Park and Jae W. Park.

According to Philip Jacobson, district director for the department’s Wage and Hour Division in New York City, an investigation found employees at each location who were not properly compensated for all the hours over 40 they worked in typical work weeks. The investigation also found that these employers were not maintaining proper records of employees’ hours of work and rates of pay.

“Specifically, we found all the employees at these locations were being paid a flat salary no matter how many hours they worked,” said Jacobson “This court action should remind employers of their obligation to keep proper records of all the hours their employees work and then pay them properly for those hours.”

A consent judgment, approved by the court, prohibits the defendants from future violations of the minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the FLSA. The court order, signed by Judge Brian M. Cogan on July 5, 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 $19,155 in overtime back wages in two installments. The back wage payments cover the period between Oct. 27, 2003 and Oct. 27, 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 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.

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.

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