The owner of 15 gas stations across the Bronx, Nassau, and Suffolk counties—operating under well-known brands such as BP, Mobil, and Sunoco—has been ordered by a federal court to pay more than $1 million in back wages to over 100 current and former employees.
Jagjit Singh, the owner of the stations, including three in the Bronx, was hit with the penalty after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor uncovered wage violations.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District issued the judgment after the U.S. Department of Labor filed a lawsuit in March 2022. The legal action stemmed from findings by the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division, which uncovered that from 2015 through 2018, businesses owned by Singh violated multiple provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act
The investigation revealed that Singh’s stations engaged in several illegal practices, such as withholding overtime pay from employees who often worked well over 40 hours per week—including some employees logging over 85 hours weekly. Instead of paying the required overtime rates, the businesses compensated workers at straight-time rates.
Singh, according to the DOL, also failed to pay some employees the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Additionally, investigators found that the stations did not maintaining accurate or complete wage records, with some stations lacking any records before 2017 or keeping incomplete documentation.
The gas stations in the Bronx subject to the judgment include MBB at 1881 Tremont Ave., Sunoco at 3305 E. Tremont Ave., and Sunoco at 820 E.182nd St., according to court records.
“As an owner of 15 gas stations, Jagjit Singh deliberately and illegally denied over one hundred employees and their families of hard-earned wages,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director David An 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 court’s judgment requires Singh and his businesses to pay $549,673 in back wages and an equal amount in damages. Additionally, Singh must pay $75,655 in civil money penalties to the DOL.
“The U.S. Department of Labor does not hesitate to pursue all actions, including litigation, to protect workers whose employers fail to fulfill their legal obligations,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Jeffrey S. Rogoff in New York in a statement. “The department has zero tolerance for employers who choose to disregard federal wage requirements.”
Singh could not be reached for comment.
