Manhattan Labor Lawyer Wins Wage Claim Dismissal

The employer in this matter operated a small Manhattan-based business. 

Several former employees filed complaints alleging unpaid overtime, unpaid night shift premiums, and failure to pay full final wages. 

The total claimed exposure exceeded $85,000, including statutory liquidated damages and potential civil penalties.

The employer asserted that all wages had been paid in accordance with agreed schedules. 

However, during the initial administrative review, certain payment records were not immediately available, creating procedural risk. 

At this stage, careful intervention by a Manhattan labor lawyer became essential to prevent adverse findings based on incomplete documentation.

Under New York law, employers must timely pay earned wages, including overtime at one and one half times the regular rate for hours worked over forty in a workweek, unless a statutory exemption applies. 

Employers are also required to maintain accurate payroll records reflecting hours worked and wages paid.

However, employees bear the burden of establishing that uncompensated work was performed. 

While courts may permit reasonable inferences where records are inadequate, unsupported or speculative testimony is insufficient. 

Therefore, documentary evidence and credibility analysis remain central to wage claim defense.

One employee alleged that retirement related payments had not been properly issued upon separation. 

During the administrative phase, the employer initially failed to locate archived electronic transfer records. 

After conducting a forensic accounting review, however, bank statements confirmed that the retirement payout had been deposited in full.

Although the payment had been made, the timing of record production required careful explanation. 

Counsel presented authenticated financial records and payroll summaries demonstrating that the alleged unpaid amount had already been satisfied. 

As a result, the claim for unpaid retirement compensation lacked factual support.

The employees also claimed unpaid night shift premiums and overtime hours. 

They asserted that they regularly worked extended hours but had lost handwritten time logs. 

They further alleged that commuting by bicycle left no digital travel record to corroborate their schedule.

In response, the employer produced electronic scheduling software records, supervisor reports, and payroll registers showing no documented overtime authorization. 

Testimony from managerial staff confirmed that night work required prior approval, which had not been granted.

Because New York law requires proof of actual hours worked, and because the claimants could not produce reliable evidence of uncompensated labor, the adjudicating body found the allegations unsubstantiated.

After reviewing payroll data, bank records, and testimonial evidence, the administrative authority dismissed all wage claims. 

The decision concluded that the employer had met its payment obligations and that the employees failed to establish unpaid overtime or premium wage entitlement.

Importantly, the dismissal prevented exposure to liquidated damages, interest, and civil fines that may otherwise attach to substantiated wage violations in New York. 

For the employer, the result avoided both financial liability and reputational damage.