Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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NEW YORK -- Brooklyn-based Jimmy Jazz Inc., a fashion retail sales company, and its owner, James Kherzie, have agreed to pay almost $75,000 in overtime back wages, liquidated damages and penalties to settle a U.S. Labor Department lawsuit alleging violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Both the company and Kherzie were named in the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

According to Philip Jacobson, district director for the department’s Wage and Hour Division in New York City, an investigation found 48 company warehouse employees were required to work Sundays off the books at straight time. 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 applicable 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.

“Because this employer has a previous history of overtime violations, there was no question as to his full knowledge of the requirements of the FLSA,” said Jacobson. “Therefore, in addition to the back wages and liquidated damages awarded by the court to the employees, we assessed a civil money penalty against Jimmy Jazz Inc. and Mr. Kherzie.”

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 Frederick Block on Sept. 7, 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 $65,742 in overtime back wages and liquidated damages in two installments. The back wage payments cover the period between May 14, 2003 and May 11, 2005. The defendants were also ordered to pay a civil money penalty of $9,240 to the Labor Department.

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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