Uptown Papa John's Franchisee to Pay $500,000 for Exploiting Workers

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS-INWOOD, NY — The operators of three Uptown Papa John's franchises will be forced to shell out some serious dough to the underpaid workers they exploited by paying unfair wages.

Sultan Ali Lakhani — who operated an enterprise of franchises at 701 W. 179th Street in Washington Heights, 4927 Broadway in Inwood and at 161 West 231st St. in the Bronx — settled with state officials and the U.S. Department of Labor to pay more than 200 exploited workers restitution totaling $500,000, the New York Attorney General's Office announced Tuesday.

Lakhani, along with operating companies Moregrace LLC, and Thegrace, Inc., violated minimum wage and overtime laws and failed to reimburse work-related expenses incurred by employees, according to the announcement.

“When businesses brazenly violate the law by systematically failing to pay their employees minimum and overtime wages, they rip off some of our state’s most vulnerable workers,” said Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in a statement. “I have called on corporate leaders in the fast food industry – including Papa John’s – to step up and stop these ongoing violations, which are so pervasive in this company and industry.”

Officials first started to investigate Lakhani in 2013, with the franchisee later admitting to violating several laws and regulations in the settlement, according to the Attorney General's office.

Lakhani violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by not paying minimum wage or overtime wages and violated the New York State’s “spread of hours” regulations by not paying employees who worked daily shifts longer than 10 hours. Lakhani also forced delivery workers to pay for their own bike equipment and maintenance costs, said the Attorney General's office.

“Employers who cheat their workers out of their hard earned wages also economically undercut law-abiding competitors who pay their workers properly,” said Mark Watson, regional administrator for the Wage and Hour Division at the U.S. Department of Labor, in a statement. “This joint investigation and litigation effort sends a clear message to such employers: Violate both federal and state laws and you will face the consequences at both levels.”

Photo: Google Maps street view circa May 2016