Jones v. Pawar Bros Corp., et al., Case No :1:17-cv-3018-PKC-SJB

Firm Secures a Trial Win with a Verdict in the amount of $100,601.00 – Wage and Hour Violation

Firm represented a dispatcher/tow truck driver against his former employers Pawar Bros. Corp., USAC Towing Corp., and Harjinder Singh, individually, for, unpaid overtime wages in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law. Generally, the Plaintiff alleged that the Defendants required Plaintiff to work, and Plaintiff did work, in excess of forty hours for each week or virtually each week, yet the Defendants failed to compensate Plaintiff at one and one-half times his regular rate of pay for all hours that he worked in excess of forty each week. In addition, Defendants failed to provide Plaintiff with accurate wage statements on each payday as the New York Labor Law required. Making matters worse, after Plaintiff complained to Defendants about their failure to pay him overtime compensation despite requiring him to work over forty hours per week, Defendants retaliated by terminating Plaintiff’s employment. Shockingly, during Plaintiff’s case, the Defendants attempted to allege that Defendants never employed Plaintiff at all, and that he was instead an independent contractor that Defendants only called for occasional work.  After a long trial, the jury verdict rendered in favor of Jones in the amount of $100,601.00, awarded as (1) unpaid overtime wages for Defendants violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law of $36,400.00; and (2) damages for Defendants’ retaliatory firing of Plaintiff in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law in the amount of $64,201.00, composed of $4,201.00 in compensatory damages and $60,000.00 in punitive damages; Michael J. Borrelli, Alexander T. Coleman, and Andrew C. Weiss handled the matter on behalf of the firm with Andrew C. Weiss operating as trial counsel.  Plaintiff also prevailed on his claim for an additional $5,000.00 in damages for Defendants’ failure to provide accurate wage statements in violation of the New York Labor Law on summary judgment.  Plaintiff has recently filed his post-trial motion where he anticipates being awarded additional damages in the form of liquidated damages, pre-judgment and post-judgment interest on the amounts awarded to him, and attorneys’ fees.