Leon v. AYG Framing Construction LLC
- Vernon Broderick
- 1:21-cv-08014
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
Leon v. AYG Framing Construction LLC: Judge Aaron ordered plaintiffs to correct or explain damages calculations in their default-judgment request.
The plaintiffs seeking default judgment and damages, and the defendants in the damages-review process.
What happened
In Leon v. AYG Framing Construction LLC, the plaintiffs asked for a default judgment and submitted charts calculating damages for unpaid wages and minimum-wage violations under federal and New York law.
The court found apparent errors in the hourly and overtime rates for three weeks and questioned whether the plaintiffs could recover unpaid straight-time wages at their regular hourly rate rather than the minimum wage. It ordered them to revise the calculations or explain them by June 7, 2022, and to provide editable Excel versions of the charts.
Judge Stewart D. Aaron did not decide the damages amount in this order. Instead, he required additional information before the damages review could proceed.
The detailed version
- Leon v. AYG Framing Construction LLC · No. 1:21-cv-08014
- Vernon Broderick
- May 24, 2022
Background
The case was referred to Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron for a damages review. The plaintiffs had filed a motion for default judgment with supporting materials, including separate damages charts. Their complaint asserted New York Labor Law claims for unpaid wages and claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law for failure to pay minimum wages.
Calculation issues
For the weeks ending June 6, June 13, and June 20, 2021, the plaintiffs calculated a regular hourly rate of $28.75 by dividing weekly earnings of $1,150 by 40 hours. They calculated overtime at $43.13, or one and one-half times the regular rate. The court noted that the charts counted a 30-minute daily break and therefore used 40 hours per week.
For the weeks ending June 27, July 4, and July 11, 2021, the plaintiffs' charts used a regular hourly rate of $34.50 and an overtime rate of $51.75. The court stated that, using the same method applied to the earlier weeks, weekly earnings of $1,380 should be divided by 48 hours, producing a regular rate of $28.75 and an overtime rate of $43.13. The court therefore found that the later calculations appeared to be erroneous.
The court also stated that the plaintiffs' calculation of unpaid earnings appeared inconsistent with applicable law because it used their regular hourly rate rather than the minimum-wage rate. The cited authority indicated that the New York Labor Law provision relied on by the plaintiffs permits recovery of minimum wages but does not provide for recovery of unpaid straight-time wages at a higher regular rate. The court did not finally resolve that issue in this order.
Order
The court ordered the plaintiffs, by June 7, 2022, either to file revised damages calculations for the three later weeks or to file a letter explaining why those calculations were correct and consistent with the New York Labor Law. It separately ordered the plaintiffs either to revise their calculations of unpaid earnings or to explain why those calculations were legally correct. The plaintiffs also had to email the court native Excel versions of their damages charts, including any revisions.
This order did not state a final damages award or otherwise resolve the motion for default judgment. Judge Stewart D. Aaron required corrected or explained calculations so the damages review could continue.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.