Bencosne v. Beautiful Paradise Restaurant Corp.

Background

Esperanza Bencosne brought claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York Labor Law against Beautiful Paradise Restaurant Corp., Maribella Paradise Restaurant Corp., and Victor Peguero Solano. She alleged that she worked as a cook from December 20, 2017, through December 28, 2020, and was not paid the required minimum wage or overtime pay. She also alleged that she was not paid the additional hour of pay required for workdays lasting more than ten hours and was not given required wage notices and wage statements.

The defendants were served but did not appear in the case. The court entered an order of default against all defendants and referred the matter to Magistrate Judge Netburn. Judge Netburn recommended awarding damages for the unpaid minimum wage, overtime, and spread-of-hours claims and denying the wage-notice and wage-statement claims. No party objected to the recommendation.

Court’s Analysis

Because the defendants defaulted, the court treated the well-pleaded factual allegations about liability as true, but required evidence supporting the amount of damages. The court found that the allegations about Bencosne’s work hours, pay, and relevant dates were sufficiently specific to calculate damages.

The court agreed that the allegations established coverage under the FLSA and New York Labor Law. It also agreed that the defendants were liable for failing to pay the required minimum wage and overtime premium. The court found no clear error in Judge Netburn’s conclusion that the restaurant defendants were covered by New York’s spread-of-hours regulation and that Bencosne adequately alleged workdays exceeding ten hours.

The court rejected the wage-notice and wage-statement claims because Bencosne alleged only the statutory violations and did not identify a concrete harm caused by the missing or inaccurate documents. Relying on the legal requirement that a plaintiff show an actual injury beyond the statutory violation, the court concluded that Bencosne lacked standing to seek damages on those claims and dismissed them.

Damages and Disposition

The court adopted the Report and Recommendation in its entirety and directed the Clerk to enter judgment in favor of Bencosne and against all defendants, jointly and severally, on the FLSA and New York Labor Law wage claims. The award consisted of $13,860 in unpaid minimum wages, $68,973.75 in unpaid overtime wages, $6,630 in spread-of-hours pay, and $89,463.75 in liquidated damages.

The court also awarded $45,707 in prejudgment interest at 9 percent beginning June 24, 2019; $2,464 in attorneys’ fees; and $402 in costs. It awarded post-judgment interest at the rate provided by federal law, running from entry of judgment until payment. Judge Gardephe dismissed the wage-notice and wage-statement claims and directed the Clerk to close the case.