SALT LAKE CITY, Utah July 25, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Federal regulators have prosecuted a Utah grocer to the tune of more than $500,000 in damages for denying employees overtime pay and pressuring them to lie to investigators.
“The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $502,609 in back wages and liquidated damages for 148 people employed by one of Utah’s largest Asian grocers,” the DOL said in a Tuesday press release.
The civil action was filed in Salt Lake’s federal court against Chinatown Supermarket LLC, and its related business, Chinatown Wholesale LLC, for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
“Supermarket industry workers are often paid flat daily or weekly rates of pay and are deprived of their earned overtime pay. These workers depend on every dollar they earn to care for themselves and their families,” said Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Betty Campbell in Dallas.
“The Department of Labor will hold employers fully accountable to prevent future violations and make sure competitors are not undercut by illegal pay practices. Our work helps workers and employers who follow the law.”
Chinatown Supermarket LLC, a retail grocery store, and Chinatown Wholesale LLC, a wholesale grocery provider, are owned by the same individual. The enterprise sells grocery products imported from Asia.
The companies attempted to prevent investigators from interviewing employees, the DOL said, and also instructed employees to tell investigators that they did not work more than 40 hours per week.
Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division, the DOL said in its press release. The division protects workers regardless of immigration status and can communicate with workers in more than 200 languages.
“The U.S. Department of Labor will work vigorously to protect workers when employers mistakenly think they can retaliate against them exercising their rights,” explained Regional Solicitor of Labor John Rainwater in Denver.
“The department is dedicated to making sure workers are paid as required by federal law. No employee should fear their employer’s wrath for reporting pay concerns.”
