A New Jersey federal court has granted final approval of a $1,400,000 settlement resolving a wage theft class action brought by bakery workers at Giannella’s Modern Bakery, a wholesale bakery located in Paterson, New Jersey. In their lawsuit, the workers alleged that they were paid on a “straight time basis,” which means that they were paid the same hourly rate for all hours worked per workweek, including hours over forty. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law (“NJWHL”), the bakery workers should have been paid the required overtime rate of 1.5 times the regular hourly rate for hours worked in excess of forty in a workweek.
The Settlement allows approximately 129 bakery workers to recover their alleged unpaid overtime wages for work performed from 2019 through 2023. On average, the workers will each receive $7,000 in backpay.
This case reinforces that hourly and manual workers—including oven operators, bakers, packers, and cleaners—must receive 1.5 times their regular hourly rates when they work more than forty hours per week. This applies whether workers are paid on an hourly or salary basis.
If you believe you are a victim of wage theft, contact the attorneys of Pechman Law Group at 212-583-9500. Note that both under New York and New Jersey Law, employees who are victims of wage theft have six years to bring a claim.
