Bello Paulino v. S & P Mini Market Corp.

Background

Jose Luis Bello Paulino sued S & P Mini Market Corp. and Amantino Vega Rosario under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law. He alleged that he worked at the defendants’ deli from approximately 2012 until January 2021, including approximately 66.5 hours per week from October 2016 through December 2019 and 57 hours per week during 2020. He alleged that he was paid $85 per day, was not paid for all regular or overtime hours, received no breaks or meal periods, and did not receive required wage notices or wage statements.

S & P Mini Market and Rosario initially answered the complaint. After counsel moved to withdraw, S & P Mini Market failed to appear through a lawyer. The court therefore deemed the corporation in default. Rosario later represented himself, and the claims against him settled and were dismissed in an earlier order. Bello Paulino then moved for a default judgment against S & P Mini Market under Rule 55(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Default and Damages Evidence

Because S & P Mini Market defaulted, the court accepted the complaint’s properly pleaded factual allegations as true, except for allegations concerning damages. Bello Paulino still had to prove his damages with reasonable certainty. The court found that his sworn declaration supplied enough uncontested information and that no damages hearing was necessary.

The court applied New York law because it produced the greater recovery, making it unnecessary to address the Fair Labor Standards Act’s provisions. Because Bello Paulino did not show that S & P Mini Market had at least 11 employees, the court used New York City’s small-employer minimum-wage rates. It also calculated his regular hourly rate by dividing his weekly pay by 40 hours, as required for the applicable hospitality-industry wage rule.

For October 1, 2016, through December 30, 2019, the court used the lower end of Bello Paulino’s claimed work range—66.5 hours per week—and calculated a regular rate of $14.87 per hour. That rate exceeded the applicable minimum wage except on December 31, 2019, producing $0.74 in unpaid minimum wages for that date. For January 1 through December 31, 2020, the court used 57 hours per week and calculated a regular rate of $12.75 per hour, producing $4,680.00 in unpaid minimum wages. The total unpaid minimum wages were therefore $4,680.74.

Rulings on Wage Claims

For overtime, New York law required payment of at least one and one-half times the regular rate for hours over 40 per week. The court awarded $100,061.79 for overtime from October 1, 2016, through December 30, 2019, and $20,029.95 for overtime from December 31, 2019, through December 31, 2020. The total unpaid overtime award was $120,091.74.

The court rejected the request for spread-of-hours pay because the complaint did not assert that claim and, in any event, the evidence showed an average of 9.5 hours per workday during both relevant periods, not more than 10 hours. The court also found that it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over the claims based only on alleged failures to provide payroll notices and wage statements because Bello Paulino did not allege a concrete downstream consequence from those failures. No damages were awarded on those claims.

The New York Labor Law permits liquidated damages equal to the unpaid wages unless the employer proves a good-faith basis for believing it complied with the law. Because S & P Mini Market did not respond and the record contained no evidence of good faith, the court awarded $124,772.48 in liquidated damages—equal to the combined unpaid minimum wages and overtime.

Interest, Fees, and Disposition

The court awarded prejudgment interest on the unpaid wage amount, but not on the liquidated damages. Applying New York’s nine-percent annual rate from the midpoint of the wage-loss period, November 16, 2018, the court calculated interest at $30.77 per day through the date judgment was entered. Post-judgment interest was stated to accrue automatically under federal law.

The court awarded no attorney’s fees or costs. It had previously required Bello Paulino to separate fees and costs attributable to S & P Mini Market from those attributable to Rosario and to explain why S & P Mini Market should bear the full amount. The supplemental filing did not provide that separation or explanation, so the court treated the request as waived.

The court granted the motion for default judgment. It directed the Clerk to enter judgment against S & P Mini Market in favor of Bello Paulino for $249,544.96, plus prejudgment interest at $30.77 per day from November 16, 2018, until judgment, and to close the case.