A federal judge has awarded $171,595 – the equivalent of 8,580 manicures at $20 per session – to a former employee of an Armonk nail salon.
U.S. District Judge Nelson S. Román found that former employee Reina Ascencio presented credible evidence of federal and state labor law violations, in a Feb. 27 opinion from White Plains federal court, and that the evidence provided by Iris Spa owner Minkwan Choe was speculative and imprecise.
Iris Spa operates two salons on Main Street, one downtown and another a few blocks away in Armonk Town Center. They offer manicures, pedicures, facials, hair waxing and massages.
Asencio worked for Iris Spa from 2008 to 2020, primarily at the downtown salon. She cleaned up before customers arrived, provided massages, removed customers’ nail polish, and cleaned up after closing.
She sued the spas in 2021, claiming that she had received no overtime compensation, despite working 57-hour weeks. Initially, she was paid $60 a day, and when she left she was being paid $80 a day. She alleged that she was rarely given a break, never received a wage notice and received inaccurate wage statements.
Choe described his involvement with Ascencio as limited. He went to the spa three times a week to deliver supplies and paychecks, staying about 10 minutes each time and interacting with Ascencio with simple greetings.
Ascencio was supervised by other managers who set her schedule, Choe contended. And she self-reported her hours on time records, frequently took breaks or had nothing to do, and it was “impossible” for her to have worked more than 40 hours a week.
Román found that the payroll records and time sheets were inaccurate and incomplete. Choe’s claims that Ascencio generally worked two to three days a week, and never more than 40 hours a week, were at odds with the evidence and inconsistent with his own testimony.
Choe said Ascencio took too many breaks, for example. But he said he did not supervise her, their interactions were limited to simple greetings, and his visits to the spa were generally limited to 10 minutes.
Moreover, Román noted, the fact that an employee self-reports her hours provides no cover because employers may not delegate the duty to maintain accurate time records. Employers also must give their employees detailed wage statements that include the hours worked and the rate of pay. Here, the judge found, Iris Spa left out key information and listed inaccurate hours and rates of pay.
Román granted summary judgment for Ascencio, for failures to pay the minimum wage and overtime and failures to provide a proper wage notice and wage statements.
He assessed $143,152 in damages, plus $28,443 in pre-judgment interest dating back to 2017, as well as attorney’s fees to be determined.
