Long Island Caterer Settles Overtime and Minimum Wage Claims for $610,000

Westbury Manor, a prominent Long Island caterer, along with owners Vincent Scotto, Gennaro Scotto and Luigi Scotto settled a minimum wage and overtime case with the United States Department of Labor for $610,000.  The Consent Judgment was approved by United States District Court Judge Leonard Wexler on April 1, 2011. According to an article in Newsday, in 2005, Westbury Manor had agreed to pay $338,000 as part of a $1 million Labor Department settlement with four catering halls accused of underpaying nearly 2,000 employees.  The current settlement includes $482,780 in back wages and $50,000 in interest for workers; $69,300 in civil penalties and $7,920 in child labor penalties stemming from allegations the company worked 14 and 15 year-olds longer hours than labor law allows. The Consent Judgment follows an investigation by the Department of Labor that began in late 2009.  That probe allegedly found that Westbury Manor dishwashers, cooks, waiters, busboys and bartenders often worked more than 40 hours a week – some workers clocking as many 60 hours a week – but were not paid at the overtime rate for the extra hours.  The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to pay eligible employees one and one-half their regular hourly rate for every hour over 40 that they work in a week.