Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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NEW YORK -- Manhattan Fruit Exchange, a New York City produce wholesaler and retailer, and the company’s owners, will pay over $183,000 in back wages to 104 employees to settle a U.S. Labor Department lawsuit alleging violations of the 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 office found employees were not being properly compensated for all the hours they worked, and that the employer was not maintaining proper records of employees’ hours of work and rates of pay. Some employees were found to be earning less than the federal minimum wage.

Named as defendants in the suit were Manhattan Fruit Exchange, doing business as 783 Manhattan Fruit Exchange, Louis Latilla, Delio Latilla and Vito Latilla, individually and as owners of the company.

“This action,” said Jacobson, “reflects the department’s commitment to the most vulnerable, low-wage workers and the enforcement of the overtime and minimum wage protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act. These protections are vital to employees in low-wage industries, and will be vigorously enforced wherever violations are disclosed.”

A consent judgment, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, prohibits the defendants from future violations of the minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the FLSA. The court order, signed by Judge Richard J. Holwell on Jan. 20, 2006, 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 $184,415.74 in back wages over an 18-month installment period.

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 Act without fear of retaliation. The official FLSA 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 New York district 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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