Thomas E. Perez v. Himanshu Bhatia

Filing 42

CONSENT JUDGMENT by Judge James V. Selna. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Mrs. Bhatia shall pay to the Secretary the gross sum of $54,348 as wages, agreed to by the Parties pursuant to a settlement and, therefore, found due pursuant to this Consent Judgment, plus the additional gross sum of $54,348, as liquidated damages, pursuant to FLSA Section 16(c), 29 U.S.C. 216(c), and gross sum $26,304 as damages; and, further JUDGMENT IS HEREBY ENTERED in the amount of $135,000 against Mrs. Bhatia and in favor of the Secretary 41 . ( MD JS-6. Case Terminated ) (twdb)

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JANET M. HEROLD
Regional Solicitor
SUSAN SELETSKY
FLSA Counsel
DEMIAN CAMACHO (CSBN 286693)
Trial Attorney
BORIS ORLOV (CSBN 223532)
Senior Trial Attorney
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of the Solicitor
350 S. Figueroa Street, Suite 370
Los Angeles, California 90071
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

JS-6

Attorneys for Plaintiff, Edward C. Hugler,
Acting Secretary, United States Department of
Labor

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
EDWARD C. HUGLER, Acting Secretary of ) Case No. 16-cv-01548-JVS-JCGx
Labor, United States Department of Labor,
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Plaintiff,
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v.
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) CONSENT JUDGMENT
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HIMANSHU BHATIA, an individual,
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Defendant.
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)

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Plaintiff EDWARD C. HUGLER, Acting Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor (the “Secretary”), and Defendant HIMANSHU BHATIA (“Mrs.

CONSENT JUDGMENT & ORDER

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Bhatia”), an individual, have agreed to resolve all claims alleged in the Complaint pend-

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ing before the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Case No. 8:16-cv-

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01548-JVS-JCG (“Complaint”), and hereby consent to the entry of this Consent Judg-

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ment as follows:

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I.

STATEMENT BY THE PARTIES

A. The Secretary has filed a Complaint alleging that Mrs. Bhatia violated Sections 6,

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11, and 15 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended (the “FLSA”), 29

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U.S.C. §§ 206, 211, and 215.

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B. Mrs. Bhatia filed an Answer to the Complaint asserting affirmative defenses and
denying the allegations.
C. The parties agree that Mrs. Bhatia was Sheela Ningwal’s (“Ms. Ningwal”) sole
employer between July 2012 - December 2014.
D. This Consent Judgment provides not less than full FLSA minimum wage recovery

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for all hours worked by Ms. Ningwal, as alleged in the Secretary’s Complaint, between

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July 2012 – December 2014.

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E. This Consent Judgment resolves all claims in the Secretary’s Complaint and the

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Department of Labor’s investigation regarding Ms. Ningwal’s employment with Mrs.

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Bhatia.

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F. The Secretary and Mrs. Bhatia waive Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law.

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G. Mrs. Bhatia admits that the Court has jurisdiction over the parties and subject mat-

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ter of this civil action and that venue lies in the United States District Court for the Cen-

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tral District of California.

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H. Mrs. Bhatia agrees to the entry of this Consent Judgment.
I. Mrs. Bhatia acknowledges that she understands the provisions of this Consent
Judgment.

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CONSENT JUDGMENT & ORDER

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J. Mrs. Bhatia admits that she was an employer within the meaning of FLSA Section

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3(d), 29 U.S.C. § 203(d), in relation to Ms. Ningwal, a former live-in domestic service

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worker of Mrs. Bhatia identified on the attached Exhibit A.

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II.

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JUDGMENT

Therefore, upon motion of the attorneys for the Secretary, and for cause shown,
1. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that Mrs. Bhatia,
is enjoined and restrained from violating Sections 6 (minimum wage), 11(c) (recordkeeping), and 15(a)(3) (anti-discrimination), of the FLSA, 29 U.S.C. §§ 206, 211(c), and
215 (a)(3).
2. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Mrs. Bhatia shall pay to the
Secretary the gross sum of $54,348 as wages, agreed to by the Parties pursuant to a settlement and, therefore, found due pursuant to this Consent Judgment, plus the additional
gross sum of $54,348, as liquidated damages, pursuant to FLSA Section 16(c), 29 U.S.C.
§ 216(c), and gross sum $26,304 as damages; and, further
JUDGMENT IS HEREBY ENTERED in the amount of $135,000 against Mrs.
Bhatia and in favor of the Secretary.
3. The provisions of paragraph 4 of this Consent Judgment will be deemed satisfied

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when, within fifteen (15) calendar days of the entry by the Court of this Consent Judg-

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ment, Mrs. Bhatia delivers to the Wage and Hour Division, 550 West "C" Street, Suite

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990, San Diego, CA 92101, Attention: Evelyn Sanchez, Assistant District Director, the

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following:

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a.

A cashier’s check or money order in the amount of $54,348, payable to

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“Sheela Ningwal or Wage and Hour-DOL,” with “Wages-Bhatia” noted on the sub-

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ject line;

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b.

A cashier’s check or money order in the amount of $54,348, payable to

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“Sheela Ningwal or Wage and Hour-DOL,” with “Liquidated Damages-Bhatia” not-

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ed on the subject line;

CONSENT JUDGMENT & ORDER

c.

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A cashier’s check or money order in the amount of $26,304, payable to

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“Sheela Ningwal or Wage and Hour-DOL” with “Damages-Bhatia” noted on the sub-

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ject line;

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4. In the event of any default in the timely making of any payment due under this

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Consent Judgment, the full amount which then remains unpaid, plus interest at the rate

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of 10% per year, on the outstanding amount, will be due and payable. A default will be

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deemed to occur if Mrs. Bhatia is more than 5 working days late in making the payments

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due under this Judgment.

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5.

The Secretary shall distribute the remittances due under this Consent Judgement

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to Mrs. Ningwal, or her estate, in the Secretary’s discretion, and any money not so paid

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within a period of 3 years from the date of its receipt, because of an inability to locate

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the proper person or because of her refusal to accept it, shall then be deposited in the

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Treasury of the United States, as miscellaneous receipts, pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 216(c).

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6. The filing, pursuit, and/or resolution of this proceeding with the filing of this Consent Judgment shall not act as or be asserted as a bar to any action under Section 16(b) of
the FLSA, 29 U.S.C. § 216(b), as to any employee not named on the attached Exhibit A,
nor as to any period not referenced therein.
7.

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torneys’ fees that might be available under the Equal Access to Justice Act incurred by
such party in connection with any stage of this proceeding.
8.

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Each party shall bear all fees and other expenses (including court costs) and at-

Nothing in this Consent Judgment & Order is binding on any governmental

agency other than the United States Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division.
9.

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Neither this action nor the resolution of this action through this Consent Judg-

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ment in any way affects any claims by Ms. Ningwal not alleged in the Complaint, in-

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cluding their statute of limitations.

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CONSENT JUDGMENT & ORDER

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10. The Court shall retain jurisdiction of this action for purposes of enforcing compliance with the terms of the Consent Judgment.

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Dated: April 11, 2017

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CONSENT JUDGMENT & ORDER

____________________________
Honorable James V. Selna
United States District Court Judge

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Dated: April __, 2017

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NICHOLAS C. GEALE
Acting Solicitor of Labor
JANET M. HEROLD
Regional Solicitor
SUSAN SELETSKY
Chief FLSA Counsel

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By:

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__________________
DEMIAN CAMACHO
Trial Attorney
Attorneys for Plaintiff, U.S. Secretary of Labor

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Dated: April __, 2017

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__________________
Attorneys for Defendant

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Dated: April __, 2017

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MOHAMMAD KHAN
CHUGH LLP
____________________
Attorneys for Defendant

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R.BRIAN DIXON
CONNIE L. MICHAELS
LITTLER MENDELSON

Dated: April __, 2017

HIMANSHU BHATIA

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____________________
Defendant

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CONSENT JUDGMENT & ORDER

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EXHIBIT A

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1. Sheela Ningwal

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CONSENT JUDGMENT & ORDER