In recent news, the U.S. Department of Labor obtained a judgment ordering payment of over $1 million in back wages for gas station workers.

The Case: Julie A. Su, U.S. Department of Labor vs. MBB Services Inc.

The Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

The Case No.: 1:22-cv-02206-JHR-RWL

The Allegations: U.S. Department of Labor vs. MBB Services Inc.

The complaint alleged that the owner of 15 Bronx/Long Island gas stations, Jagjit Singh, willfully denied over one hundred employees full payment of their wages. The court found that the defendant was withholding overtime pay from their Bronx, Long Island gas station workers. The employees allegedly worked more than 40 hours weekly (including some workers putting in over 85 hours per week). Rather than paying the required overtime pay rates for any hours worked over 40 in one work week, the employer allegedly provided pay for all hours worked at the standard pay rate. Due to these standard business practices, some employees were also paid less than the federal minimum wage, and the company failed to provide accurate itemized wage statements to their employees. Some of the company’s locations had no employment and pay records before 2017, and some presented incomplete employment records.

The Defendant: U.S. Department of Labor vs. MBB Services Inc.

The defendants in the case included 15 different gas station locations operating under various brands, including BP, Mobil, and Sunoco. The gas stations were located in Bronx, Nassau, and Suffolk counties.

The Case: U.S. Department of Labor vs. MBB Services Inc.

In response to a federal investigation, the court ordered the owner/president of the 15 gas stations to pay over $1 million in back wages and liquidated damages to current and former employees in the class. The recovery of back wages and damages sends a signal to employers intentionally violating federal overtime and wage and hour laws that doing so can have significant financial consequences. The federal court required Singh and his businesses running the specified 15 gas stations to pay back wages ($549,673), liquidated damages ($549,673), and civil money penalties ($75,655) to the Department of Labor due to the companies’ willful nature of the employment law violations.

If you have questions about filing a California wage and hour lawsuit, please contact Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik DeBlouw LLP. Knowledgeable employment law attorneys are ready to assist you in various law firm offices in Riverside, San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Chicago.