A local San Francisco grocery chain with three stores in the city’s Mission District has agreed to pay $110,071 in back wages and liquidated damages to 25 current and former workers for failing to pay required overtime wages.
The agreement by Casa Guadalupe and its owner, Pedro Gil, settles a federal lawsuit in which the U.S. Department of Labor charged the company with violating the Fair Labor Standards Act.
A consent judgment settling the case and ordering the payment was signed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu of Oakland on Sept. 28 and announced by the Labor Department’s San Francisco district office today.
The company and Gil admitted in the settlement to failing to pay the 25 employees time-and-one-half overtime pay for work in excess of 40 hours per week between May 21, 2010, and July 28, 2012.
Casa Guadalupe and the owner also admitted in the judgment to failing to keep mandated records of employees’ wages and hours during that period.
The company will additionally pay the Labor Department a civil fine of $11,687.
Susana Blanco, director of the Wages and Hours Division of the department’s district office, said, “This employer’s deliberate disregard for the law and for workers’ rights is inexcusable.
“This lawsuit demonstrates the department’s commitment to use every enforcement tool necessary to bring such employers to justice and to ensure that workers are paid the wages they have rightfully earned,” Blanco said.
The consent decree also requires the grocery stores to keep accurate records and post notices in English and Spanish explaining the consent judgment.
Julia Cheever, Bay City News
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