New Jersey gas station company to pay up
In a signal to all New Jersey gas station owners, the Department of Labor (DOL) has recovered $3 million in back pay and liquidated damages from Daniyal Enterprises and owner Waseem Chaudhary for time and attendance violations. The gas station company operates 72 locations throughout the state, which is one of the only two that still requires full-service gas pumps.
An investigation found that 417 employees working for the brand were putting in more than 40 hours a week without receiving overtime pay for additional employee attendance. In some cases, gas station attendants were spending as many as 84 hours a week on the job. The employer avoided issuing overtime wages (one-and-a-half times the normal hourly rate) by giving them cash off the books and keeping inaccurate payroll records.
To ensure these violations are not repeated, the DOL has also asked that the locations install biometric timeclocks, which generate detail accounts of employees' time at work.
"All gas station owners and operators in New Jersey should take note of this precedent by reviewing their payroll practices and legal obligations. Gas station attendants are few in number, earn low wages, work long hours and often lack English proficiency - factors that contribute to their vulnerability as well as the importance of protecting their right to be paid properly," said acting Secretary of Labor Seth Harris.
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