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SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

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The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

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Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Deli Must Pay Damages for Retaliating Against Workers

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Friday, December 2, 2016   

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - A New Haven grocery store has been ordered to pay more than 175-thousand dollars for retaliating against workers. Two years ago, the owner of Gourmet Heaven was arrested for stealing a quarter-million dollars in wages from two dozen workers who had worked 72-hour weeks for as little as $3 an hour. The back wages finally were paid and charges were dropped, but then six of the workers who had cooperated in the investigation were fired or had their hours reduced.

James Bhandary-Alexander, a staff attorney with New Haven Legal Assistance, said that was a violation of federal and state law.

"This is a major victory," he said. "We're particularly thankful to the judge for upholding the rule of law, and ensuring that free-speech rights and wage and hour rights apply to every person in the state."

The court has indicated that Gourmet Heaven may be liable for additional damages as more evidence is submitted in the case.

Wage theft isn't uncommon. According to John Lugo, a member of Unidad Latina en Accion, Goodfellas restaurant has just settled a lawsuit over refusing to pay minimum wage and overtime to former kitchen workers. He described Goodfellas as a repeat offender.

"We did a FOIA request with the Labor Department, and we found out that he had been involved in around seven other cases," he said. "So, this is a guy who keeps stealing from the workers."

Lugo said a boycott of Goodfellas will continue until the owner commits to following the law. Bhandary-Alexander added that the problem of wage theft isn't confined to the city of New Haven.

"Anywhere between 60 and 70 percent of low-wage immigrant workers experience wage theft," he said, "and it makes it hard to pay bills, makes it hard to buy food, and it also weakens labor standards for everybody else."

He called the ruling against Gourmet Heaven an important step toward ensuring that all working families in Connecticut are protected.

More information is online at ulanewhaven.org.


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