Trief & Olk Prevail at Trial on Minimum Wage & Overtime Claims
After a bench trial presided over by Magistrate Judge Roanne Mann in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Trief & Olk was victorious against a Brooklyn-based supermarket, 5th Ave. Kings Fruit & Vegetables Corp. (known as 5th Ave. Kings Supermarket) and its owner, winning minimum wage and overtime back-pay for our client, Leonardo Aponte. Mr. Aponte worked the overnight shift in the Defendants’ store for many years but was not paid minimum wage or overtime as required by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and New York Labor Law (“NYLL”). The Defendants’ position was that Mr. Aponte was simply not an employee at all, suggesting that he chose to travel from the Bronx to Brooklyn at 11:00 pm five or six nights a week, just to spend time hanging around the store. Magistrate Judge Mann rejected this version of events, finding the testimony of the storeowner not to be credible. In contrast, the court viewed Mr. Aponte as a reliable witness, particularly given that his testimony was supported with other evidence such as photos and testimony of a fellow employee. She thus concluded that Mr. Aponte was an employee and had not been properly paid. See Aponte v. 5th Ave. Kings Fruit & Vegetables Corp., et al., 2022 WL 3655185 (E.D.N.Y. Aug. 25, 2022).
Click here to view the full case.
If you believe that you have a claim against an employer for failure to pay proper wages or other violations of federal or state wage and hour laws, feel free to contact Trief & Olk for a consultation.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
