Gas station owner will pay $28,000 for shorting employee pay when customers stole gas
The domino effect of customers stealing gas ended with the owners of two Bay County gas station/convenience stores owing $28,724 in back wages and damages after a Department of Labor investigation, the department announced.
Wage and Hour Division investigators found a pay violation hat trick — minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping — by Kajkunj and Ram Dhun, the companies run by Rajendra Patel and Manjulaben Patel, according to state records. Through the corporations, they handle M&M Market III in Youngstown and M&M Market V in Panama City.
When customers left without paying for their gas or there were cash register shortages, the companies took the money out of workers’ pay. That dropped the pay rate under the $7.25 per hour federal minimum wage. And, on the other end, even when employees worked more than 40 hours, the Patels paid them at regular pay rates instead of overtime rates.
“Other employers who may be making deductions from their employees’ pay like those discovered in this case should use this as an opportunity to review their own pay practices to ensure that they operate in compliance with the law,” Wage and Hour District Director Daniel White said. “We encourage all employers to reach out to us for assistance. Violations like these can be avoided.”
