Lawsuit seeks more than $23K in unpaid overtime wages, damages for 13 employees of travel plazas, gas stations in Northern Indiana

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit filing

Defendant(s): Rinky Sharma
Bobby Singh
SkyExpress Travel Plaza Inc., doing business as Plaza 30
Sky Petroleum Inc., doing business as Govertown Travel Plaza and Michigan City Grocery
Aman Group LLC, dba Marathon Stop and Shop

Complaint: The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit in federal court to recover an estimated $23,702 – representing $11,851 in unpaid overtime wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages for at least 13 current and former employees of four travel plazas and gas stations in Northern Indiana. The suit also names Rinky Sharma and Bobby Singh, the co-owners of the various companies operating the travel plazas and gas stations.

An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division found the defendants violated the FLSA by:

• Failing to pay overtime at time and one half for all hours employees worked beyond 40 in a workweek. Investigators determined the employer paid one worker a set salary per week, regardless of the numbers of hours worked. The employee did not meet the criteria to be considered exempt from overtime requirements.
• Paying servers overtime at one and one-half times their direct cash wages of $2.13 per hour rather than the legally-required rate of one and one-half times the full minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
• Failing to combine the hours of employees who worked as both a server and cashier in the same workweek when determining if overtime was due, instead paying for each task separately, at straight time.  
• Failing to maintain accurate payroll records including hours worked and rates of pay.

Quote: “These clerks, servers and cashiers worked long, hard hours, and deserve to be paid every penny they have rightfully earned,” said Patricia Lewis, district director for the Wage and Hour Division in Indianapolis. “This lawsuit demonstrates the division’s commitment to using every enforcement tool available to us, including litigation, to hold employers accountable, and to ensure that workers’ wages are protected.  We encourage anyone being paid less than they have earned to notify the Wage and Hour Division.”

Information: The FLSA requires that employers pay covered, nonexempt employees at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular hourly rates for hours worked beyond 40 per week. As a general rule, the FLSA provides that employers who violate the law are liable to employees for their back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. Liquidated damages are paid directly to the affected employees. Additionally, the law requires employers to maintain accurate time and payroll records and prohibits retaliation against employees who exercise their rights under the law.

For more information about the FLSA and other federal wage laws, call the Wage and Hour Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information also is available at www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/ .

Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division 3:16-cv-00834