HOBOKEN, NJ — The owner of a half-dozen New Jersey gas stations recently agreed to settle a slew of violations of federal labor and wage laws that included allegations that the defendant systematically underpaid two dozen current and former workers. Under the terms of the settlement, the owner of five Citgo stations and one Lukoil station agreed to pay $1,471,024 in back wages and damages to 24-workers and resolve a federal investigation into the company’s operations.
“This settlement puts these wages into the hands of the employees who earned them,” said Charlene Rachor, director of the Division’s Southern Jersey District Office. “The Division encourages employers to avail themselves of the many resources we provide to help them to operate in compliance, and not to find themselves facing the liabilities that can come with breaking the law.”
According to an investigation by the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, the defendant required employees to work grueling 10-hour days, seven days a week at various locations across southern New Jersey. Despite employees frequently working above the 40-hour overtime threshold, the defendant only paid workers a flat salary with no overtime pay.
Furthermore, the work schedule imposed on workers resulted in some employees failing to earn the $7.25 federal minimum wage when earnings were averaged out by wages and hours worked, a serious violation of federal law. Many of the employees worked as service attendants pumping gas for motorists, in one of only two-states where people cannot pump their own gas at service stations.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers must pay overtime non-exempt workers one and a half times the individual’s average hourly rate of pay, including any commissions and bonuses. Additionally, the defendant failed to keep accurate records of all the hours worked and wages earned by employees as required under federal law. As another part of the settlement, the defendant will implement electronic recordkeeping systems to prevent future wage theft.
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