Administrative Review Board affirms $45K penalty against Pike County employer who shortchanged 65 workers of minimum wage, overtime

Date of action:           July 18, 2024Type of action:          Administrative Review Board decision, orderEmployer names:      Shalimar Distributors LLC, operating as Promised Land Truck StopTAFS Corp., operating as Whistle Stop gas stationMohammad Tahir, owner and managerAddresses:                  Shalimar Distributors LLC ,  624 Route 390, Tafton, PA 18646TAFS Corp. ,  1405 PA 507, Greentown, PA 18426Background:              An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined that, from 2015 to 2018, Mohammed Tahir failed to pay 65 employees at two of his businesses minimum wage and overtime as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. Investigators found $42,265 in back wages owed to 47 Promised Land Truck Stop workers and $17,425 in back wages owed to 18 Whistle Stop employees, plus equal amounts in liquidated damages. The division also assessed $45,722 in civil money penalties against the employer for the employer’s willful violations.  After the employer refused to resolve the violations, the department’s Office of the Solicitor filed a complaint in August 2018 against both companies and Tahir. In its July 2020 summary judgment, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania affirmed that the employer violated the law and owed the amounts the department sought.In February 2021, the employer appealed the civil money penalties to the Office of Administrative Law Judges, which reduced the penalty to $13,800 in its October 2022 decision and order. In March 2023, the department filed a Petition for Review of the Decision and Order with the Administrative Review Board to appeal the OALJ decision. Resolution:                 On July 18, 2024, the ARB issued a decision and order that reversed the OALJ decision and required the employer to pay the $45,723 civil money penalties first assessed.Quotes:                       “The Wage and Hour Division assessed the civil money penalties against the employer due to their willful disregard of the law, and the Administrative Review Board affirmed our original assessment,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Jo-Ann Gregory in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.  “The outcome in this case shows that the U.S. Department of Labor will use all necessary litigation tools to hold employers accountable when they deny workers their hard-earned wages and try to avoid the costly consequences,” explained Regional Solicitor of Labor Samantha Thomas in Philadelphia.