An Administrative Review Board has affirmed a $45,722 penalty against Shalimar Distributors LLC and TAFS Corp., operating as Promised Land Truck Stop and Whistle Stop gas station respectively, for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The companies, managed by Mohammad Tahir, were found to have shortchanged 65 employees on minimum wage and overtime pay from 2015 to 2018.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division conducted an investigation revealing that Promised Land Truck Stop owed $42,265 in back wages to 47 workers, while Whistle Stop owed $17,425 to 18 employees. Both amounts were matched in liquidated damages. Additionally, the division imposed civil money penalties totaling $45,722 for willful violations.
Following the employer's refusal to address these violations, the department’s Office of the Solicitor filed a complaint in August 2018. In July 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania upheld that the employer had violated labor laws and confirmed the amounts sought by the department.
In February 2021, Tahir appealed the penalties to the Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ), which subsequently reduced them to $13,800 in October 2022. However, in March 2023, the department petitioned for a review of this decision with the Administrative Review Board (ARB).
On July 18, 2024, ARB reversed OALJ’s decision and reinstated the original penalty amount of $45,722.
“The Wage and Hour Division assessed the civil money penalties against the employer due to their willful disregard of the law, and the Administrative Review Board affirmed our original assessment,” stated Jo-Ann Gregory from Wilkes-Barre's Wage and Hour Division.
Regional Solicitor Samantha Thomas added from Philadelphia: “The outcome in this case shows that the U.S. Department of Labor will use all necessary litigation tools to hold employers accountable when they deny workers their hard-earned wages and try to avoid costly consequences.”
