Utah’s largest Asian grocery store fined $525K after Department of Labor investigation

SOUTH SALT LAKE (KSL.com) — Utah’s largest Asian grocery store, Chinatown Supermarket, paid $525,000 in back wages, damages and penalties following a lawsuit and investigation from the U.S. Department of Labor.

The department filed a lawsuit in Utah’s federal court in March 2022 saying Chinatown Supermarket acted illegally when the store allegedly told employees not to cooperate with investigators from the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division, along with other alleged actions.

The Wage and Hour Division obtained a preliminary injunction against Chinatown Supermarket for actively interfering with the investigation by “attempting to prevent investigators from interviewing employees and instructing employees to tell investigators that they did not work more than 40 hours per week,” said a release from the department.

Additionally, the department issued a subpoena to the company and its related business owned by the same individual, Chinatown Wholesale, to retrieve documents related to the companies’ pay practices.

These documents showed that the employer only reported up to 80 hours in a pay period and paid a weekly bonus “equivalent to straight time for overtime hours worked.” Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers must pay time and one-half the regular rate of pay for hours over 40 in a workweek.

In April, the U.S. District Court for Utah required Chinatown Supermarket and Chinatown Wholesale to pay $251,305 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 148 employees, as well as $22,390 in civil money penalties for the overtime violations.

“Supermarket industry workers are often paid flat daily or weekly rates of pay and are deprived of their earned overtime pay. These workers depend on every dollar they earn to care for themselves and their families,” said Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Betty Campbell. “The Department of Labor will hold employers fully accountable to prevent future violations and make sure competitors are not undercut by illegal pay practices. Our work helps workers and employers who follow the law.”

The employer paid back wages in full in June, the release states.

“The U.S. Department of Labor will work vigorously to protect workers when employers mistakenly think they can retaliate against them exercising their rights,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor John Rainwater. “The department is dedicated to making sure workers are paid as required by federal law. No employee should fear their employer’s wrath for reporting pay concerns.”