Long Island Employment Law Blog
On October 25, 2017, Long Island employment lawyers Famighetti & Weinick, PLLC obtained a $39,541 judgment for their client, a former cook in a restaurant. The lawsuit, filed in Supreme Court, New York County, alleged that the restaurant did not pay the client overtime and failed to provide with her wage statements as required by New York Law.
New York Overtime Laws
In New York, employers are required to pay their employees overtime pay for all hours worked over 40 in a week. Generally, overtime is one and one half times the employee’s regular rate of pay. In F&W’s case, the employee worked as much as 75 hours per week, but was paid only a flat “salary” rate of $520 in cash. So, F&W argued that the $520 represented payment for only the first 40 hours worked in the week, meaning the employee was owed regular wages plus overtime wages for up to 35 hours per week. Justice Nancy Bannon agreed with F&W and further agreed that the employee was entitled to unpaid wages totaling $17,452 for the 6 months the employee worked for the restaurant.
New York Wage Theft Prevention Act
New York’s Wage Theft Prevention Act requires that employers provide wage notices to employees at the time of their hire and at each time the employee is paid. In F&W’s case, the employer did not provide any wage notices to the employee at any time. The Wage Theft Prevention Act provides for statutory damages when an employee violates the Act. In this case, the Court awarded statutory damages of $1,720.
New York Labor Law Liquidated Damages
New York’s Labor Law allows for employees to obtain 100% liquidated damages from employers who fail to pay proper overtime and/or minimum wage. Basically, this means that any damages suffered by the employee, i.e. the amount of wages not paid, is doubled. In this case, the employee established that she was entitled to $17,452 in unpaid wages, so the Court ordered an additional $17,452 in liquidated damages.
Interest, Attorneys’ Fees, and Costs
Under the New York Labor Law, when an employee establishes that the employer did not pay proper wages, the employee may be entitled to interest, attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of the costs associated with the lawsuit. Here, Long Island employment lawyers Famighetti & Weinick obtained a total judgment of $39,541.17, including all wages, penalties, interests, fees, and costs.
If you believe you have not been paid your proper overtime or minimum wages, contact the Long Island employment lawyers of Famighetti & Weinick, PLLC at 631-352-0050 or visit us on the web at https://www.linycemploymentlaw.com. By scheduling a free confidential consultation, our employment lawyers can discuss how we can help you obtain your stolen wages.