The US Department of Labor secured a consent judgment recovering $63K in back wages and liquidated damages from a Subway franchisee owned by Ritesh Patel for workers at six Massachusetts locations.
Subway franchise owner Ritesh Patel will pay $4K in penalties for willful wage violations.
(STL.News) The US Department of Labor released the following information regarding action against Ritesh Patel, a Subway franchisee owner, and his companies for willfully violating wage rules by not paying employees overtime pay. Ritesh Patel will pay $4,000 in penalties for his willful wage violations.
Date of action: January 13, 2025
Type of action: Consent judgment and order
Employers:
- Om Soham Inc. in Framingham
- Om Soham Om Inc. in Sudbury
- Shri Krsna Inc. in Oxford
- Shri Ram Inc. in Framingham
- Shri Vedmata Gayatri Inc. in Sturbridge
- Shri Vishnu Inc. in Leicester
- Ritesh Patel, owner/operator
Allegations: The US Department of Labor alleged that six Subway franchise locations in Massachusetts willfully violated the Fair Labor Standard Act’s overtime provisions when the employers paid certain employees set weekly amounts for varying overtime hours worked. Additionally, the department alleged that the employer deprived certain employees of the required overtime rate by paying them the same hourly amount for all hours worked, including hours over 40 in a workweek. Federal law requires the payment of overtime pay for certain employees at a time and one-half their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek.
The department’s lawsuit also alleged that the franchise locations failed to keep accurate or complete records of some employees’ work hours and wage payments.
Resolution: In a January 13, 2025, consent judgment, the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts directed the employers to pay the 12 affected workers their shares of $31,802 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. The employer will also pay civil money penalties of $4,626 for the employers’ willful FLSA violations. The court also issued a permanent injunction forbidding the employers from future FLSA violations.
Quotes: “When employers create compensation structures that deprive employees of proper overtime pay, the Office of the Solicitor will litigate aggressively to ensure that workers receive the wages they have earned,” said Regional Solicitor Maia S. Fisher in Boston.
“These Subway franchises willfully violated the rights of 12 restaurant workers who work hard,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Carlos Matos in Boston. “Th Wage and Hour Division will use all available enforcement tools to hold employers accountable and bring them into compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act.”
