Manchester-Based Pizza Chain to Pay Thousands in Fed Sanctions

HARTFORD, CT – A Manchester-based chain of pizza restaurants and its owner will pay $26,575 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to employees to settle violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act found by the U.S. Department of Labor, federal officials said Wednesday.

The restaurant chain and owner will also pay $14,000 in damages to a former employee who refused to provide false information to investigators, Labor Department officials said.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut entered a consent judgment Wednesday ordering Chemro, LLC – doing business as People’s Choice – and its owner, Robert Y. Mercier II, to comply with the FLSA and to "refrain from discharging or discriminating against employees who initiate or cooperate with an FLSA investigation."
They will also pay $1,168 in civil money penalties, Labor Department officials said.
An investigation by the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division found that People's Choice allegedly violated the FLSA’s minimum wage, overtime, and record-keeping requirements between February 2013 and November 2015, Labor Department officials said.
Specifically, they did not pay one-and-one-half their regular rates of pay to three employees who worked overtime hours of up to 75 hours per week and took payroll deductions for cash register shortages that resulted in one employee receiving less than the minimum wage, Labor Department officials said.
The unpaid overtime for the period includes wages and damages that the defendants concealed from the Division during a prior investigation in 2015, Labor Department officials said.
The previously hidden unpaid overtime dates back to February 2013, Labor Department officials said.
People's Choice also maintained and supplied false time and payroll records and statements to investigators during the current investigation and a prior investigation in 2015, Labor Department officials said.
The records included receipts that falsely stated that the employees received back wages, Labor Department officials said.
Investigators also found that between about December 2015 and April 2016, Mercier continually pressured one employee to make false statements to investigators, leading the employee to believe he had no choice but to resign, Labor Department officials said.
In its complaint, the Labor Department charged that the behavior resulted in the worker’s constructive discharge, in violation of the FLSA’s anti-retaliation provision, the first such claim made by the Department in New England.
“This resolution secures for these hard-working employees the proper compensation they should have received in the first place,” said Wage and Hour’s Hartford District Director David Gerrain. “Employers who knowingly violate or attempt to evade the law gain an unfair competitive advantage over responsible employers who honor their obligations.”
“Intimidating employees – or in any way suggesting they should make false statements or not cooperate with legitimate investigations – is illegal and has consequences,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Michael Felsen.
The FLSA requires that most employees receive one-and-one-half times their regular rates of pay when they work more than 40 hours in a work week and that employers maintain adequate and accurate records of employees’ wages and work hours.
Photo Credit: Chris Dehnel