f RUE SL PRL, if (| USEC SDNY | POA COURT ROCUMEN □ UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT || ELECTRONICALLY PILED | SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK | Doc # □ enna nnn nana nnnnmannn conn sana casa cnmmnn □□□ asses ayer ceey IAL O27 b ANYELA SALAZAR, ANEL HERNANDEZ, eee » 10/23] □□ ROBERT ENMANUEL EMILIANO, and : Cees intitts : ORDER ADOPTING ° REPORT AND y RECOMMENDATION LENA INC., d/b/a Cocina Taller, and 16 CV 7743 (VB) DARIO OLEAGA, Defendants. : ee ee en eee een eee een ee eee eX Briccetti, J.: By Order dated January 3, 2020, the Court granted in part plaintiffs’ motion for default judgment, finding the plaintiffs were entitled to judgment on liability. (Doc. #86). By separate Order, also dated January 3, 2020, the Court referred this matter to Magistrate Judge Cott for

an inquest on damages. (Doc. #87). Now pending is Magistrate Judge Cott’s Report and Recommendation (“R&R”), dated September 18, 2020, recommending that the Court award plaintiff Salazar $67,163.24 in damages, plaintiff Hernandez $38,917.56 in damages, plaintiff Emiliano $11,541.42 in damages, and plaintiff Pichardo $7,614.00 in damages, along with pre-judgment interest from the midpoint between each plaintiff's first and last date of employment through the day that judgment is entered. (Doc. #99). Magistrate Judge Cott also recommends that plaintiff be awarded attorneys’ fees and costs in the amount of $23,561.50 and post-judgment interest on all sums. The Court presumes familiarity with the factual and procedural background of this case.

By Order dated May 14, 2020, the Court denied defendant Oleaga’s motion to set aside the entry of default and default judgment. (Doc. #95). .

A district court reviewing a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation “may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate judge.”

(b)(1). Parties may raise objections to the magistrate judge’s report and recommendation, but they must be “specific[,] written,” and submitted within fourteen days after being served with a copy of the recommended disposition, Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b)(2);

(b)(1), or within seventeen days if the parties are served by mail. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(d). No parties have objected to Judge Cott’s thorough and well-reasoned R&R. The Court has carefully reviewed the R&R, the amended complaint, and plaintiffs’ submissions, and finds

no error, clear or otherwise. Accordingly, the Court adopts the R&R as the opinion of the Court with the following modifications. With respect to the $7,614.00 in damages Magistrate Judge Cott recommends awarding to plaintiff Pichardo, the Court lowers that amount by $1,500.00 to $6,114.00. As Magistrate Judge Cott correctly states, employees can recover “$250 for each workday that a wage statement violation occurs or continues to occur, not to exceed $5,000.” (See R&R at ECF 22 (citing Canaveral v. Midtown Diner NYC, Inc.,

, at *5 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 5, 2019)).2 However, because plaintiff Pichardo worked for a total of 14 days total, she should be awarded only $3,500.00 (14 days x $250) for the wage statement violations, not the maximum $5,000. (See Doc. #89-5 (“Pichardo Aff.”) 2, 11, 12). Accordingly, plaintiff Pichardo shall be awarded $6,114.00 plus pre-judgment and post-judgment interest.

2 “ECF _” refers to the page numbers automatically assigned by the Court’s Electronic Case Filing system.

With respect to pre-judgment interest, plaintiffs are awarded nine percent pre-judgment interest on their unpaid wages as follows. e Plaintiff Salazar: nine percent interest on $27,761.62, from July 6, 2015 (the approximate midpoint between Salazar’s first and last date of employment), to October 22, 2020 (the date of this Order)—1,935 days—amounts to $13,245,.72.3 e Plaintiff Hernandez: nine percent interest on $14,208.78, from March 15, 2016 (the approximate midpoint between Hernandez’s first and last date of employment), to October 22, 2020—1,682 days—amounts to $5,892.95. e Plaintiff Emiliano: nine percent interest on $2,245.71, from February 22, 2016 (the approximate midpoint between Emiliano’s first and last date of employment), to October 22, 2020—1,704 days—amounts to $943.57.4 e Plaintiff Pichardo: nine percent interest on $957, from April 4, 2016, (the approximate midpoint between Pichardo’s first and last date of employment), to October 22, 2020—1,662 days—amounts to $392.19.° Accordingly, plaintiffs are awarded the following:

3 Nine percent per annum is 0.0246575 percent per day. $27,761.62 (unpaid wages) x 1,935 days x 0.0246575 percent is $13,245.72. 4 There is one typographical error in Section II.B.6.c of the R&R, with respect to the midpoint of Emiliano’s employment dates. It alternately states that the midpoint is February 22, 2016 and February 26, 2016. The midpoint is February 22, 2016. (R&R at ECF 25). 5 There are two typographical error in Section ILB.6.d of the R&R. First, it alternately states that the midpoint of Pichardo’s employment dates is April 4, 2016 and July 10, 2015. The midpoint is April 4, 2016. (R&R at ECF 25). Second, it states Pichardo is owed $1,011 in unpaid wages. (Id.). Pichardo, however, is owed $957 in unpaid wages. (Id. at ECF 17-18).

ey) 9% Pre-judgment. | Damages + 9% Pre- Plaintiff | Damages* Wages | Unpaid Wages) $67,163.24 $13,245.72 $80,408.96 $38,917.56 $5,892.95 $44,810.51 $11,541.42 $943.57 $12,484.99 $6,114.00 $392.19 $6,506.19 Judgment shall be entered against defendants 203 Lena Inc., d/b/a Cocina Taller and Dario Oleaga in the total amount of $167,772.15, comprising: (i) $144,210.65 in damages (including pre-judgment interest), and (ii) $23,561.50 in attorneys’ fees and costs. Plaintiffs are also awarded post-judgment interest on all sums, as calculated under

. The Clerk is directed to enter judgment and close this case. Dated: October 22, 2020 White Plains, NY SO ORDERED Prue Vincent L. Briccetti United States District Judge

6 These totals are broken down further in Table 7 of the R&R. (R&R at ECF 23). Other than the Total Damages amount listed here for Pichardo, which the Court has lowered to $6,114, these are the same Total Damages that Magistrate Judge Cott calculated.