The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $353,945 in back wages and liquidated damages for 79 sales associates at 12 New Jersey T-Mobile locations whose owners willfully denied the employees overtime wages for hours over 40 in a work week.
Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Morad Marashli and Kabaeil Barakat failed to pay the associates overtime at time-and-one-half their required rates of pay when required by law. Instead, they paid them in cash, off the books at straight time rate.
Their actions violated the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Marashii and Barakat operate Metro by T-Mobile locations in Bayonne, Union City, Colonia, Elizabeth, and Somerset.
In addition to the recovery of back wages and damages, the division assessed a civil money penalty of $38,670 due to the employers’ willful violation of the law. Sales associates worked at locations owned and operated by Marashli and Barakat, under multiple entities.
Barakat operates the following Metro by T-Mobile locations: 209 Mobile Inc.
at 209 Broad Street in Elizabeth; Broad Mobile Inc. at 87 Broad Street in Elizabeth; Elmora Mobile Inc. at 164B Elmora Avenue in Elizabeth; Elizabeth Mobile Inc. at 852 Elizabeth Avenue in Elizabeth; 3402 Bergenline Mobile Inc. at 3402 Bergenline Avenue in Union City; and 4200 Bergenline Mobile Inc. at 4200 Bergenline Avenue in Union City.
Marashli operates the following Metro by T-Mobile locations: Somerset...
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