Discussion of August 2022 wage theft case with SOMOS clients awarded damages

KGLP Station Manager Rachel Kaub speaks with the plaintiffs and SOMOS un Pueblo Unido New Mexico attorney regarding an August 2022 wage theft case, recently awarding two workers who were not paid, or paid fully, by a Gallup employer.

--- Press Release, with link to video of 8/17/22 Press Conference in Gallup ---

Gallup Judge rules in favor of workers not paid for hours worked at Farmington restaurant.  Video of the bilingual press conference may be seen at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrjdo8wEu6c

Gallup, NM -  August 17, 2022 - On Thursday August 4th, a state District Court judge ruled in favor of two Gallup workers who were not paid for all their hours worked at a local restaurant and ordered they be paid more than $116,000 in unpaid wages and damages.

Jose "Pancho" and Sandra Olivas, Gallup residents and members of the Somos Un Pueblo Unido in McKinley County, worked for Morgan Newsom, a Gallup business owner at his Farmington restaurant in 2014 and 2015 for more than six months and were not paid for all their hours, including overtime hours.

Following a trial that was held last March, 11th Judicial District Court Judge Robert A. Aragon found both Mr. and Mrs. Olivas’ were individually owed wages for more than 800 straight-time hours and more than 900 overtime hours. Judge Aragon ordered the Olivas’ be paid for their unpaid wages, plus interest and treble damages– or an additional amount equal to twice their underpaid wages– as dictated by New Mexico wage laws.

"This decision is a victory for workers across the state and it shows employers that we cannot be exploited. If we all come together as a community we can hold them accountable to follow the law and pay our hard earned wages. " said Jose "Pancho" Olivas.

Newsom hired the Olivas’ to remodel and run 505 Burgers, his Farmington restaurant, in 2014. Mr. Olivas was sometimes paid for his hours worked, but Mr. Newsom frequently failed or refused to pay Mr. Olivas’ for all of his wages; Mr. Newsom never paid Ms. Olivas for her hours worked. During their employment, they both worked between 70 to 100 hours per week, seven days a week.

"This decision sends a message to other employers who do not pay workers their duly earned wages, they run the risk of owing workers much more than just their unpaid wages,” said Gabriela Ibañez Guzmán, staff attorney with Somos Un Pueblo Unido's Worker Center and co-counsel in the lawsuit against the NM Department of Workforce Solutions.

Pancho Olivas is also the lead plaintiff in a statewide class action complaint against the NM Department of Workforce Solutions filed in 2017 for not adequately enforcing wage and hour laws. The 2017 class action lawsuit resulted in a 2018 settlement agreement between workers and workers' rights organizations and the Department of Workforce Solutions (DWS) to ensure the state government will carry out its duty to enforce New Mexico's strong anti-wage theft laws and hold employers accountable when they violate these laws.

“After everything we suffered, justice triumphed. We want our story to serve as an example that we should not remain silent or fear retaliation. We have to remember that there are many organizations like Somos Un Pueblo Unidos that can help us and give us the support to fight for our rights.” Said Sandra Olivas. “That is why we must continue the fight and not only demand that our simplest rights be protected, but demand more from our governments and the people who make the decisions.”

The case,  Olivas v. Serna , was filed in January 2017 by four victims of wage theft, including the Olivas’, and workers' rights organizations Somos, El CENTRO de Igualdad y Derechos, New Mexico Comunidades en Acción y de Fé (CAFÉ), and Organizers in the Land of Enchantment (OLÉ).
                           
View the bilingual press conference (en Español y English) on YouTube, at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrjdo8wEu6c

Links:

Final court order:    https://files.constantcontact.com/b6dfe469001/4e361585-8120-40c0-aefa-b2a8ffbb27cd.pdf?rdr=true
Olivas' statements:  https://files.constantcontact.com/b6dfe469001/ad57ef3e-2dff-4191-9566-2807ecd71aaf.pdf?rdr=true

###

Somos Un Pueblo Unido  is a statewide immigrant-based civil and workers' rights organization with membership teams in eight counties and offices in Santa Fe, Hobbs and Roswell.