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Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
Press Releases
U.S. Department of Labor |
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NEW YORK -- A chain of supermarkets doing business in Brooklyn and Queens, N.Y., and two officers of the companies have agreed to pay a total of $127,292 in overtime back wages and interest to settle a U.S. Labor Department lawsuit alleging violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Defendants in the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, were: Dynasty Meat Corp. of Sunnyside, Dynasty VI Food Corp. of Ridgewood, Dynasty VII Food Corp. of Brooklyn, 58-18 Meat Corp. of Woodside, Z and T Food Corp. of Woodside, and corporate officers Mike Siad and Ahmad Zahriyeh.
According to Philip Jacobson, district director for the department’s Wage and Hour Division in New York City, an investigation found 96 employees were paid straight time for overtime hours and that the employers did not maintain proper records of employees’ work hours and rates of pay. Jacobson noted that this investigation was conducted with the cooperation of the N,Y. State Department of Labor, Division of Labor Standards.
The FLSA requires that employees be paid at least the applicable federal 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.
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 Brian M. Cogan on Dec. 22, 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 $127,292 in overtime back wages and interest in ten installments. The back wage payments cover the period between Jan. 1, 2003 and Dec. 31, 2005.
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, in English and Spanish, 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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