Horse Trainer Must Pay $130,000 In Back Pay, Penalties: Feds

BROOKLYN, NY — A federal court has ordered a thoroughbred horseracing stable and its owner to pay back wages in excess of $130,000.

Investigators found Danny Gargan and his Gargan Stables Corp. paid certain employees at Belmont and Aqueduct racetracks, stables and other locations a fee per horse handled, not per hour as stated in their payroll records, the news release from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York said.

Workers were also unlawfully denied overtime despite having worked more than 40 hours, according to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division.

Gargan was assessed $37,368 in penalties for willful wage theft and for falsifying records in violations.

He is also ordered to pay $66,315 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to the affected workers.

"Gargan Stables Corp. and Danny Gargan have learned that disregard for federal labor laws and their employees’ rights have costly consequences," Wage and Hour Division District Director David An in Westbury said. "We suggest other employers review their own pay practices to prevent violations. The Wage and Hour Division has many tools to assist employers and workers in understanding the law."

The judgment also Gargan and his company

• To hire a qualified compliance monitor to review their payroll and record-keeping practices to ensure Fair Labor Standards Act compliance.
• Use an electronic timekeeping system to ensure accurate recording of employees’ work hours.

• Train employees, in languages they understand, on the proper use of the timekeeping system and pay them for that training time.

"To put it plainly, underpaying employees is wage theft," Regional Solicitor of Labor Jeffrey Rogoff in New York said in a statement.