Gas station workers on Long Island, Bronx owed $1 million in back wages, damages, feds say
Sunoco Food Mart on Fulton Street in Farmingdale is one of the gas stations owned by Jagjit Singh, according to federal investigators. Credit: Newsday/Kendall Rodriguez
Fifteen gas stations in Nassau, Suffolk and Bronx counties must pay more than $1 million in back wages to former employees, a judge ordered, after a federal investigation found they were paid less than minimum wage and not paid overtime over the course of three years.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the investigation found that from 2015 through 2018, businesses owned by Jagjit Singh — operating under brands such as BP, Mobil and Sunoco — failed to pay more than 100 employees overtime, including employees who often worked well over 40 hours per week and some who exceeded 85 hours per week.
Instead, Singh paid straight-time rates when the required overtime rates were owed, the department said.
The Labor Department did not identify where Singh lived, but said he was the owner of all 15 gas stations.
According to court documents, the gas stations are:
- Sunoco at 136 N. Wellwood Ave. in Lindenhurst
- Sunoco Food Mart at 150 Fulton St. in Farmingdale
- Mobil at 278 W. Main St. in Smithtown
- Sunoco at 720 Hillside Ave. in New Hyde Park
- Mobil at 635 E. Main St. in Kings Park
- BP at 771 Peninsula Blvd. in Hempstead
- Euro Gas at 848 Willis Ave. in Albertson
- Sunoco at 85 N. Main St. in Freeport
- 24 at Hour Minimart at 105 Sheridan Blvd. in Inwood
- Sunoco at 20 Sheridan Blvd. in Inwood
- JTP at 139 Jericho Tpke. in Floral Park
- US Petroleum at 1575 Rte. 112 in Port Jefferson
- MBB at 1881 E. Tremont Avenue in the Bronx
- Sunoco at 3305 E. Tremont Ave. in the Bronx
- Sunoco at 820 E.182nd St. in the Bronx
Some employees were also paid less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25, according to the Department of Labor.
In addition, Singh failed to keep wage records, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the investigation found. Some stations had no records before 2017 or incomplete records.
Singh could not be reached for comment.
The department’s Office of the Solicitor filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York in March 2022 based on the investigation.
"As an owner of 15 gas stations, Jagjit Singh deliberately and illegally denied over one hundred employees and their families of hard-earned wages," David An, wage and hour division district director, said in a statement. "The back wages recovered, and damages and penalties assessed, send a clear signal to all employers that intentionally defying federal law will have costly consequences."
The judgment handed down on Tuesday calls for Singh and his businesses to pay $549,673 in back wages, the same amount in liquidated damages and $75,655 in civil penalties.
