A.G. Schneiderman And U.S. Department Of Labor Announce $500,000 Agreement With Papa John’S Franchisee Over Wage Violations

New York City Franchisee Must Pay Over 200 Workers Restitution And Damages

   Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and the U.S. Department of Labor today announced a settlement totaling $500,000 with Sultan Ali Lakhani, Moregrace LLC, and Thegrace, Inc., the owners of three Papa John’s Pizza franchise stores in Manhattan and the Bronx. The three stores violated minimum wage and overtime requirements, and also took unlawful deductions from workers’ wages caused by failure to reimburse all work-related expenses. Restitution and damages will be distributed to over 200 underpaid workers.  

“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,” saidAttorney General Schneiderman. “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.”

“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. “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.”

“This resolution exemplifies the corrective action and restitution that can be achieved on behalf of workers when state and federal agencies work together on their behalf,” said Jeffrey S. Rogoff, the regional solicitor for the U.S. Department of Labor. “We look forward to continuing our successful partnership with Attorney General Schneiderman’s office to root out wage violators and ultimately improve compliance with federal and state wage laws.”

The Manhattan stores involved in today’s settlement, operated by Moregrace LLC, are located at 701 W. 179^th Street in Washington Heights and 4927 Broadway in Inwood. The Bronx store, operated by Thegrace, Inc. is located at 161 West 231st Street. The three stores are operated by Lakhani as one enterprise.

Today’s agreement follows a joint investigation into the franchisee, beginning in 2013. Lakhani admitted to the violations of law outlined in the settlement agreement. The admitted violations included the following:

• Workers were not paid the minimum wage and overtime wages required under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and state law;
• Workers were not paid an additional hour at minimum wage when employees’ daily shifts were longer than 10 hours, violating New York State’s “spread of hours” regulations; and
• Delivery workers did not receive bicycle safety equipment and were not reimbursed for bicycle maintenance costs.

In addition to payment of $500,000 in restitution funds the stores must institute complaint procedures, post a statement of employees’ rights, and designate an officer to monitor ongoing compliance and submit quarterly reports to the Attorney General's Office for three years. 

The settlement announced today is the latest with Papa John’s franchisees in New York City. Over the past two years, the Attorney General's Office has investigated and found violations by eight separate Papa John’s franchisees, who, together, operated a total of over 30 restaurants, as follows:

• Syed Mehboob and his stores paid $400,000 in restitution and liquidated damages.  Mehboob owned and operated six individually incorporated franchise restaurants in Queens, as follows: 3320 Woodside Papa, Inc. (operating at 49-19 30^th, Woodside, New York 11377 ), 99 Food, Inc. (operating at 9906 Northern Blvd., Corona, New York 11369), Sunnyside Papa, Inc. (operating at 40-12 Greenpoint Ave., Sunnyside, New York 11104), Zeeshee, Inc. (previously operated at 23-33 Astoria Blvd., Astoria, New York 11102; closed in March 2015), 193 Papa, Inc. (previously operated at 193-18 Northern Blvd. Flushing, New York 11358; sold in November 2014), and Parson Papa, Inc. (previously operated at 147-14 45^th Ave., Flushing, New York 11355; closed in November 2014).  The settlement included restitution for violations from August of 2008 to August of 2014.

• AMHC Food Inc. and its owner Mohammed Hasnat, operators of  a Papa John’s restaurant at 2241 Westchester Avenue in the Bronx, New York, paid $40,000 in restitution and liquidated damages. The settlement included restitution for violations from January of 2014 to July of 2015.

• Ksara Corp. and owner Ghulam Fani, operators of a Papa John’s restaurant at 189 Avenue U in Brooklyn, New York.  The settlement with Ksara also included Zeman Associates, LLC, a prior owner of this franchise.  These operators paid $16,000 in restitution and liquidated damages. The settlement included restitution for violations from February of 2013 until July 2015.

• Judy & Jesenia, Inc. and owner Jesenia Diaz, who until November 2014 operated a Papa John’s restaurant located at 3528 Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn, New York paid $13,355.78, in restitution and liquidated damages for underpayments beginning in June of 2013 through November of 2014.

• In February and March of 2015, Attorney General Schneiderman obtained judgments against two other Papa John’s franchisees, Emstar Pizza (6 locations) and New Majority Holdings (5 locations), for violating wage laws. Those judgments totaled almost $3 million.

• In addition, in July of 2015, the Attorney General arrested Abdul Jamil Khokhar, the owner of nine Papa John's Pizza franchises in the ‪Bronx, and his company, BMY Foods, Inc. for failing to pay workers minimum wage and overtime. Khokhar and BMY Foods pled guilty to these charges and were sentenced on September 21, 2016. Mr. Khokar and BMY Foods, Inc. were sentenced to pay $230,000 in restitution to workers, and Mr. Khokhar was sentenced to serve 60 days in jail. The U.S. Department of Labor also filed a consent judgment against the enterprise in federal court, and recovered an additional $230,000 as liquidated damages from Khokhar and BMY Foods, and civil money penalties of $50,000.

The Wage and Hour Division’s investigations were conducted by its New York City District Office, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor. Senior Trial Attorney Daniel Hennefeld handled the case on behalf of the Department of Labor. 

NYCC Exhibitor and Artist Alley Lists are Live

 October 6 - 9, 2016 | Javits Center

                    
     
       

Join Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. for a FUN FILLED DAY Sat. Sept 17th

Contact 718-590-3522 for additional information.

STATE SENATOR GUSTAVO RIVERA AND ASSEMBLYMEMBER VICTOR M. PICHARDO TO HOST ANNUAL BACK TO SCHOOL CELEBRATION AT ST. JAMES PARK

  State Senator Gustavo Rivera will host the last of three Back to School events on Friday, August 26th from 2:00PM to 5:00PM at St. James Park. This event is co-sponsored by Assembly Member Victor M. Pichardo.

This event, which is part of Senator Rivera's Bronx CAN Health Initiative, will have a backpack giveaway, fun activities and free health screenings in an effort to help celebrate a healthy start to the upcoming school year. A limited number of backpacks will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Children between 5 and 13 years old need to be accompanied by an adult while youths between 14 and 18, do not need a parent present.

What: Back To School Event

Who: State Senator Gustavo Rivera and Assembly Member Victor M. Pichardo

When: Friday, August 26, 2016

Where: St. James Park (entrance on Jerome Avenue and W 192nd Street)

**This event is free and open to the public. 

STATEMENT FROM MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO ON PROPOSED FEDERAL REGULATION REGARDING RETIREMENT SECURITY PLANS

   “In February, we announced our plan to create a retirement savings program for private sector employees. Today, the United States Department of Labor’s proposed regulation expands the “safe harbor” to certain cities, which is an important preliminary step.   We will continue to engage with the DOL, as we have in recent months, to ensure that the requirements set forth in the final regulation enable the City to move forward with a workable retirement savings program that promotes the success of families and in turn, the success of our city. Just 43% of working New Yorkers have access to a retirement savings plan, with low-income, immigrant, minority and female New Yorkers disproportionately affected.    Successful implementation of the City’s plan will help right this wrong and set people up on a path to succeed long after they’ve stopped working.”

CM Torres NYPD Security Cameras Installed at These Locations

  Community Board 7 has been notified that the NYPD security cameras funded by Council Member Ritchie Torres have been installed. The following are the locations of the cameras:

E 198 Street & Valentine Ave

E 194 Street & Valentine Ave

E 194 Street & Briggs Ave

E 194 Street Between Marion & Decatur Ave

We all hope these cameras address the quality of life and public safety concerns the community cares about and which we as a Board have received complaints about for a long time. Please see the attached photo of what one of the cameras looks like. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you.

Andrew Sandler  District Manager

Bronx Community Board 7

229-A East 204th Street  Bronx, NY 10458

P: 718-933-5650/51

100 PERCENT Thursday August 25, 2016

100 PERCENT 

By Robert Press

Dirty Tactics in Politics

   First, with the Bronx Voice on vacation this week I did not want you the reader to miss this column as the Bronx Democratic primary draws near.  A few key races are heating up, and you need to know more about them. 

   First up is the 33rd State Senate race. Here incumbent Gustavo Rivera is facing the toughest challenge of his short political tenure. Now he beat his opponent two years ago, but this is a different Fernando Cabrera from two years ago. The big difference is that candidate Fernando Cabrera is being funded by a pro Charter School PAC to the tune of up to Two-Hundred Thousand dollars according to Candidate Gustavo Rivera. So why would this worry the incumbent if he defeated his opponent before? 

    When Gustavo defeated the incumbent years ago he had a PAC give him Two-Hundred Fifty Thousand dollars, and he knows that money talks and BS walks. I am not saying that Senator Rivera is not a good elected official, but just look at his district. Has the district improved since he took office, and how? Also remember that his opponent is the city councilman who covers a good part of the state senate district, and that while there are no more state discretionary funds, a city councilman gets Five Million New York City dollars in Discretionary funding to dole out. 

   Senator Rivera is trying hard for his constituents, but when you have an informational session on SNAP (the old food stamp program) with fellow State Senator Liz Krueger, do it in your district in the Bronx (where your constituents need it), and not in the posh Manhattan district of your mentor. To be fair, there was the Kingsbridge Armory story about Councilman Cabrera holding out his endorsement, but it appears that the Ice Center proposal is all but dead. 

   On to the 78th Assembly District race. This race is getting nasty now, as incumbent Jose Rivera's minions are now not only going after his opponent, but also me. Comments have gone up on facebook by two of his supporters that I am on the payroll of candidate Ischia Bravo, that I am a crook, that I am a racist, and that I hold power over elected officials. I showed these comments to Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. last night at the Chubby Checker Concert, and he said to ignore them. He added that he pays no attention to facebook chatter. 

   Well Assemblyman Jose Rivera we have known each other for over twenty years, and it is you who is trying to be bully here as you have in the past. I will let everyone know the reasons why you should not be re-elected. Be a man Assemblyman Jose Rivera, since you have no record to run on just hang it up. I expect more of what has been going on from you towards me, and keep doing what you are so you can lose the election. 

       

Jeff Klein's Riverdale Concert Has Audience Twisting With Chubby Checker

  Last night at the Jeff Klein Summer Concert Series the crowd of over 500 people got a surprise twist from the Chubby Checker Concert in Seton Park. Instead of just staying on the stage famous recording star Chubby Checker came off the stage to say hello, and twist among the people. The photos below will show the rest of the story. 

Above - Before the concert State Senator Jeff Klein, Bronx BP Ruben Diaz Jr., and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz make sure they, Chubby Checker, and the audience will be well protected as the elected officials join with 50th Precinct Commanding officer Deputy Inspector Terrance O'Toole who had several officers on patrol.

Below - Rock and Roll legend Chubby Checker. Checker who is 74 years old and real name is Ernest Evans tries to get the three elected officials to do the Twist.

Above - Councilman Cohen, BP Diaz, Senator Klein, Assemblyman Dinowitz, Dinowitz's son Eric, Chief of Staff Randi Martos, and Congressman Eliot Engel's Chief of Staff Bill Weitz all pose with Chubby Checker before the concert. 

Below - It's time for the concert to begin, and Chubby Checker is introduced by State Senator Jeff Klein.

Above and Below - Chubby Checker performing. That is the Whitehall building across the street from Seton Park in the background.

Above and Below - Chubby Checker went into the audience to say hello and do the twist.

Above and Below - Chubby Checker does the Twist with some members of the audience.