Company run out of a Brooklyn walk-up shorted Florida produce packers $159,000 in pay
A company run out of Brooklyn owed produce packers at its Florida facility $159,419 back pay after trying to say the workers were independent contractors, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found.
Labor said Ark Foods Group, doing business as Ark Foods, paid that money to 147 workers, an average of $1,084.48 per employee.
State records say Ark Foods Group is run by president Noah Robbins, vice president Peter Robbins and chief operating officer and secretary Eduardo Mestre out of 299 E. Third Ave., a two-unit three-floor walk-up in Brooklyn. Ark Foods didn’t respond to an email requesting comment.
A Wage and Hour Division investigation found that Ark Foods tried to claim an agricultural exemption for workers at its Immokalee facility, 855 County Rd. 846, “for packing that happens on or near a farm that produces the harvest.”
That would have allowed Ark Foods to avoid paying overtime rates when workers went past 40 hours in a work week. Wage and Hour determined that the facility, which the company website says packs specialty peppers from October through May, didn’t meet the exemption’s requirements. So, by not paying overtime, Ark Foods was in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Ark Foods also operates facilities in Plant City; Lake Park, Georgia; Roebuck, South Carolina; Vineland and Hackensack, New Jersey; and Clarence, New York.
“Employers must comply with the legal requirements to claim an agricultural exemption,” Wage and Hour Division District Director Nicolas Ratmiroff said. “Ark Foods failed to do so and now must face and address the consequences.”
The Wage and Hour complaint section of Labor’s website contains information on how to file a complaint if you believe your employer has violated FLSA or other labor laws. Miami’s Wage and Hour Division office can be reached at 305-598-6607. The national helpline is 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).
