Arrests for Failure to Properly Pay Employees

The president and vice president of a supermarket in Brooklyn have been accused of paying no wages to some baggers who received only tips, failing to pay workers the minimum wage, and refusing to pay overtime. The New York Times reported that the two executives were arrested for cheating employees and falsifying business records filed with the state.

A lawsuit has also been filed against the supermarket for hundreds of thousands of dollars in back pay and penalties for 30 workers who were allegedly wrongly paid over a two-year period. In addition to the baggers who received nothing but tips, some employees worked 70-hour weeks without receiving overtime pay, and some were paid almost three dollars less than the minimum wage. According to state officials, the supermarket kept separate payroll records and filed reports with government agencies showing that all nonexempt employees were paid at least the minimum wage and any overtime due.

Whether these charges are true or not, this situation is a reminder that both federal and state wage laws are to be taken seriously. If they’re not, employers and individual representatives of employers can find themselves in a heap of trouble — not just in terms of back pay that may be owed but time in the slammer. It’s likely that government agencies will be even more vigilant in this time of economic crisis to make sure that employers aren’t improperly cutting corners to save money, particularly when that results in depriving struggling employees wages to which they are rightfully entitled.