Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. --

A federal district court has found that the former owners of Bagelman’s NY Bakery, Plymouth, Minn., owe ten employees $121,674 in back overtime wages and liquidated damages following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The federal district court in Minneapolis found that former Bagelman’s owners, Bagelman’s New York Bakery, Inc., and Ross R. Anvary violated the overtime pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by paying employees less than time and one-half for hours worked over forty in a single workweek. The current owners of the wholesale bakery have no connection to the violations which occurred between April 2001 and October 2002.

Investigators from the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined that ten workers at the bakery regularly worked 48 hour workweeks and sometimes worked as many as 80 hours a week without being paid proper overtime compensation. The court’s decision awarded payment of $60,837 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages.

“The Department of Labor is committed to ensuring that workers are paid in accordance with the law and for all hours worked. The court’s award provides for recovery of the lost overtime pay as well as compensation for the delay the workers incurred before being properly paid,” said Wage and Hour Division Minneapolis District Director Denise Scharlemann.

The FLSA requires the payment of minimum wage and the payment of overtime at time and one-half an employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 per week. The FLSA also contains record keeping requirements and youth employment standards.

The Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $212 million in back wages in fiscal year (FY) 2003, a 21 percent increase over the record setting amount of FY 2002. Average days to resolve a complaint decreased in FY 2003 from 129 days to 108 days. The Wage and Hour Division assessed employers nearly $10 million in civil money penalties in FY 2003. For more information, 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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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.