The operator of Leo’s Coney Island franchise locations in Clarkston, Dearborn, Livonia and Sterling Heights issued a statement Wednesday through an attorney denying wrongdoing after being accused of not paying overtime wages and shredding timecards by the federal government.
In a news release Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Labor said the Leo's Coney Island franchisee agreed to maintain accurate employee timecards and "stop denying" employees overtime pay as part of a preliminary injunction.
Maureen Rouse-Ayoub, a partner at Varnum Law and an attorney for Kyriakos "Ken" Vlahadamis, the restaurants’ co-owner and operator, called the U.S. Department of Labor's news release announcing the court order "inaccurate."
Rouse-Ayoub said all parties entered into a stipulated court order agreeing to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act, which requires that employees be paid overtime wages at time and a half their hourly rate when they work more than 40 hours a week.
She also said there has been no court determination that Vlahadamis or the other Leo’s Coney Island defendants have engaged in any violations of the law.
"... Vlahadamis and the Leo’s Coney Island defendants voluntarily entered into the stipulated preliminary injunction order for the sole purpose of moving the matter forward in an expeditious manner to enable the parties to investigate the allegations, which includes the opportunity for Vlahadamis and Leo’s Coney Island to establish that they did not engage in the conduct alleged in the complaint," she said. "Vlahadamis and the Leo’s Coney Island defendants intend to vigorously defend against these baseless allegations."
Rouse-Ayoub noted that the order says that Vlahadamis and the U.S. Department of Labor "disagree whether the willful destruction of timecards occurred" and she said Vlahadamis and the Leo’s Coney Island defendants deny failing to pay overtime.
The order requires that "when Vlahadamis and the Leo’s Coney Island defendants talk to employees about the lawsuit they disclose the pending lawsuit and advise employees that there will be no retaliation for participating in the investigation," Rouse-Ayoub said.
She said Vlahadamis and the other Leo’s Coney Island defendants deny the allegations of wrongdoing set forth in the latest complaint and further deny any violation of a prior consent judgment. In 2018, the U.S. District Court in Detroit entered into a consent order and judgment with Vlahadamis and Leo’s Coney Island Sterling Heights prohibiting them from future violations, including overtime and recordkeeping violations.
"Vlahadamis and Leo’s Coney Island defendants look forward to proving that the allegations are false, that they value and respect their employees and comply with applicable laws," Rouse-Ayoub said.
A U.S. Department of Labor spokesperson said Wednesday the release is accurate and "specifically refers to the order as a 'consent preliminary injunction.' The court entered order speaks for itself and was entered by the court after the court’s scheduled motion hearing. ... The Department of Labor continues to litigate the remaining issues before the court."
The order applies only to the four Leo’s Coney Island franchise locations in Clarkston, Dearborn, Livonia and Sterling Heights. There are more than 70 Leo’s Coney Island locations in Michigan.
Contact Adrienne Roberts: amroberts@freepress.com.
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