Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

Printer-Friendly Version

Press Releases

NEW YORK, NY -- Telediscount Communications and Communications, Data & Internet, two business service providers based in Union City, N.J., as well as the owner and manager of both companies, have agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor alleging violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The defendants will pay a total of $100,455.64 in back wages and post-judgment interest to 196 current and former employees as part of the settlement.

Without admitting the violations alleged in the Labor Department’s suit, filed July 23, 2004 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the defendants, including Eduardo Cabrera individually and as owner of both corporations and Jose Araque individually and as manager of both corporations, have agreed to entry of a consent judgment signed by U.S. District Judge Charles Brieant on April 29.

According to Sonia Rybak, assistant district director of the White Plains’ office of the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division, the consent judgment prohibits the defendants from future violations of the FLSA’s overtime and recordkeeping provisions, and orders them to pay the $100,455.64 in overtime back wages and interest in monthly installments to be completed by June 1, 2006.

An investigation by the Wage and Hour Division had revealed that many of the defendants’ employees at various call centers throughout New York and New Jersey had been required to work overtime hours without proper compensation; and that the defendants had failed to maintain adequate and accurate records of their employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment.

“Employers must be mindful of their legal obligation to pay employees properly for all hours they are required to work,” said Rybak. “This case demonstrates that the department will not hesitate to pursue litigation to ensure that employees are paid properly under the law.”

The FLSA requires that employees be paid at least the applicable minimum wage, time and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 per week, and that accurate records be maintained of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment. The law also regulates the employment of workers younger than 18 years of age.

The Wage and Hour Division office in White Plains investigated this case, and the lawsuit was filed by the Labor 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 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243), or contact the White Plains Wage and Hour office at 914-682-6348. Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

###

U.S. Department of Labor releases are accessible on the Internet at www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the COAST office upon request. Please specify which news release when placing your request at (202) 693-7828 or TTY (202) 693-7755. The Labor Department is committed to providing America’s employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit www.dol.gov/compliance.