SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The owner of seven Sacramento-area gas stations was required to pay his 105 employees $340,470 in back wages and damages after the U.S. Department of Labor found minimum wage and overtime violations.
Darshan Mundy—whose four corporate entities operate four Chevron stations in Sacramento, one Chevron station and one Valero station in Davis, Calif., and one Chevron station in Lodi, Calif.—failed to pay the federal minimum wage, violated overtime requirements and falsified payroll records, according the U.S. Department of Labor.
Details of his violations, according to the department, include:
- Mundy withheld pay for employee’s first 24 hours of work as “training hours” until new employees completed a 90-day probationary period.
- Mundy violated overtime requirements by paying straight time rates when employees worked more than 40 hours per week.
- Mundy, in some cases, falsified payroll records by reducing the number of hours shown to avoid paying overtime.
- Mundy illegally deducted money from workers’ pay or collected it from out-of-pocket to cover cash register shortages.
- Mundy did not combine the hours employees worked across multiple locations in the enterprise during the workweek when determining whether overtime was due.
Mundy also paid $45,963 in penalties to resolve violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) minimum wage and overtime requirements, according to the department. Going forward, he will use a biometric timekeeping system at all stations, train current employees on their rights under the FLSA and distribute information to future employees about their rights and how to file complaints.
“This employer used a variety of schemes and illegal practices to deny employees their rightfully earned wages,” said Wage and Hour Assistant District Director Brandon Nuess. “We will continue to enforce the law so all employers abide by the same rules. We also encourage employers and employees to call us for assistance to improve their understanding of the labor standards and learn about our online educational tools, so violations like those found in this investigation can be avoided.”
The department offers resources—including online videos, confidential calls and in-person visits to local Wage and Hour Division offices—so employers can comply with federal law. Employers can also contact the toll-free helpline at 866-487-9243 and find more information on the Wage and Hour Division’s website.
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