The U.S. Department of Labor has secured a federal consent judgment that permanently prohibits two Astoria discount stores and their owners and manager from threatening workers and obstructing investigations by the department’s Wage and Hour Division.
Entered in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, the court order mandates ABC 31st Street Inc., doing business as ABC Deals, and Astoria 99C Inc., doing business as Pick 99C, along with owners Ahmad Perwaiz and Hassan Perwaiz, and manager Mohammed Perwaiz to pay $25,000 in punitive damages to two employees who were allegedly threatened to prevent them from cooperating with the division’s investigation. The judgment addresses violations of the anti-retaliation provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
In a related agreement, the businesses paid $50,000—$25,000 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages—to six employees to resolve violations of the FLSA’s minimum wage, overtime, and recordkeeping requirements.
“The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to pay workers the wages they are due for the hours they work. This law also protects workers’ rights to communicate and cooperate with U.S. Department of Labor investigations and exercise other rights free of threats and retaliation by their employers,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jorge Alvarez in New York. “Requiring employees to lie to federal investigators is not and should never be a condition of employment.”
“The case’s resolution puts employers on notice that we will not tolerate retaliation and wage theft. When an employer tries to coerce workers and obstruct investigations, the U.S. Department of Labor will swiftly respond with effective and assertive legal actions to protect workers and hold the employer accountable,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Jeffrey S. Rogoff in New York.
In addition to requiring payment of punitive damages, the judgment permanently prohibits the businesses and the Perwaizes from:
- Acting or threatening to fire their employees or reduce hours; intimidating, coercing, retaliating against or discriminating against them based on beliefs that an employee has complained about pay; engaging in any other FLSA-protected activity; or cooperating with the U.S. Department of Labor.
- Obstructing any way into department investigations into their FLSA compliance.
- Telling any worker not to cooperate with investigators or provide incomplete or false information; questioning workers about their cooperation or communication with investigators.
- Communicating with any employee regarding the investigation without first informing them in writing—in their primary language—that they may communicate voluntarily with investigators free from coercion without facing discrimination or retaliation.
The division’s Queens area office in Forest Hills conducted the investigation. Trial Attorney Peter F. Kellett from the regional Office of the Solicitor in New York litigated this case.
The FLSA mandates that most employees in the U.S. be paid at least federal minimum wage for all hours worked as well as overtime pay at no less than time-and-a-half for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.
More information about Wage and Hour Division services can be found online including tools for determining if back wages are owed by calling confidentially regardless of location at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). The department offers assistance in more than 200 languages through its toll-free helpline.
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