State Seeks Wage Compensation
A Papa John’s pizza franchisee was sued by Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman on Monday, Dec. 15, for allegedly underpaying their employees in violation of State Labor Law.
According to the lawsuit, some of the alleged dirty business practices that the pizza chain franchisee, Emstar Pizza Inc. and its owners, Emmanuel and Uchenna Onuaguluchi, took part in include shaving hours from workers’ pay by underreporting hours worked; rounding down employees’ hours worked to the nearest whole hour increment; regularly failing to pay proper overtime; and failing to keep accurate payroll records.
In some cases the affected workers were allegedly underpaid by hundreds of dollars in a single pay period, the attorney general noted.
“Like every other business in New York, fast food employers must follow the law,” Schneiderman said. “My office will combat wage theft whenever and wherever we see it,” he added.
Schneiderman seeks to compel Emstar Pizza Inc. and the Onuaguluchis to pay restitution and damages to hundreds of employees who have worked for them over the last six years.
This lawsuit also seeks an accounting of damages, since flaws and inaccuracies in the company’s records prevented a fast and accurate restitution calculation, and to stop any ongoing illegal business practices.
Emstar’s Papa John’s pizza restaurants have been located at 117-02 Atlantic Ave. in Richmond Hill; 63-110 Woodhaven Blvd. in Rego Park; 94-31 Rockaway Blvd. in Ozone Park; 31-14 Farrington St. in Flushing; 1011 Broadway in Bushwick; and 2838 Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn.
On Monday afternoon, the court granted a temporary restraining order to prevent dissipation of the employer’s assets.
The lawsuit stems from an investigation by the Attorney General’s Labor Bureau into Emstar’s pay practices, reinforced by information from the U.S. Department of Labor, which is conducting its own investigation.
This lawsuit is the second to come out of current investigations of many fast-food employers by the Attorney General’s Labor Bureau for labor law violations.
In October, the Attorney General sued a different Papa John’s pizza franchisee, New Majority Holdings LLC, and its owner. That case is ongoing.
The case is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Kevin Lynch and Section Chief Andrew Elmore in the Attorney General’s Labor Bureau, which is led by Bureau Chief Terri Gerstein.
