Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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NEW YORK -- Smilowitz Home Made Foods Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y., has agreed to pay employees $120,651 in overtime back wages to settle a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit alleging violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

According to Philip Jacobson, district director for the department’s Wage and Hour Division in New York City, an investigation by his Brooklyn area office revealed that employees were working far more than the 35 hours per week claimed by the employer, without being properly compensated. The firm also allegedly maintained false records of hours worked and amounts paid per hour to employees.

Filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, the suit names owners, Moshe Smilowitz and Devorah Smilowitz, in addition to the company. A consent judgment, filed simultaneously with the complaint, orders payment of back wages plus interest; prohibits future violations of the minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the FLSA; and prohibits the defendants from taking retaliatory action against any employees who exercise their rights under the law.

The judgment, signed Dec. 7 by Judge Stirling Johnson, provides for a court-appointed receiver to collect the back wages in the event the defendants fail to make a payment. The receiver has the power to seize and liquidate the defendants’ assets to satisfy the back wage payment order. Finally, the defendants are ordered to advise employees of the terms of the judgment; the employer’s obligations under the FLSA, and worker rights to engage in protected activities under the Act without fear of retaliation. The defendants agreed to entry of the consent judgment without admitting or denying any FLSA violations.

“This court action,” said Jacobson, “demonstrates that the Labor Department is quite serious about enforcing the FLSA and ensuring that workers are always properly paid for all of the hours they work.”

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

The department’s Wage and Hour Division New York district/Brooklyn area office 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 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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