SALT LAKE CITY – 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 after the agency filed suit to stop the employer from interfering with an investigation into employer’s compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The Wage and Hour Division obtained a preliminary injunction against Chinatown Supermarket LLC for actively interfering with the Wage and Hour Division investigation by attempting to prevent investigators from interviewing employees and instructing employees to tell investigators that they did not work more than 40 hours per week.
The department also issued a subpoena to the company and its related business, Chinatown Wholesale LLC, to obtain documents about the companies’ pay practices. The documents showed that the employer only reported up to 80 hours in a pay period and paid a weekly bonus equivalent to straight time for overtime hours worked. By law, employers must pay time and one-half the regular rate of pay for hours over 40 in a workweek.
In an April 21, 2023, consent judgment, the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, Central Division, required Chinatown Supermarket LLC and Chinatown Wholesale LLC to pay back wages and liquidated damages, and to comply with the FLSA or face additional consequences.
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