An employee filed suit against her current employer, Harlem 421 Food Corporation (doing business as Key Food Supermarket), and Roberto Espinal in the Eastern District of New York on Tuesday over allegations that the defendant failed to pay her for overtime hours she worked.
The plaintiff began her employment with the defendant in 2017. As an employee of the defendant, she works in the produce section of the Key Food Supermarket where her duties are to make salads and cut fruit. Frequently, she said she works more than 40 hours per week for the defendant, meaning she qualifies for overtime pay. However, she alleges that the defendant has repeatedly failed to compensate her appropriately for the overtime hours, “either at the straight rate of pay or for any additional overtime premium.”
The complaint also details the amount of work the plaintiff was given – an amount which she claims made it impossible for her to take a break throughout the day. She contends that she “complained various times about not having a break.” Further, the defendant is said to have never indicated or recorded the amount of hours worked in their documentation or pay stubs. The defendants reportedly provided no notification to Pastor regarding the rights she had concerning “overtime and wages under the FLSA and NYLL.”
The complaint is for the unpaid minimum wages and overtime wages, which the plaintiff asserts are in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) and the New York Labor Law (NYLL). Since the defendant “willfully disregarded and purposefully evaded recordkeeping requirements” in an effort to avoid paying Pastor, she is seeking declarations of the FLSA and NYLL violations, liquidated damages, pre and post-judgement interest, litigation fees, and any other relief the court deems just.
The plaintiff is represented in the litigation by Stillman Legal.
