FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JULY 15, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 17
Adams talks gun violence during White House visit
BY STEPHEN WITT
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Eric Adams, the Democratic nominee
for New York City mayor, participated in
a round-table discussion on reducing gun
violence with President Joseph Biden, U.S.
Attorney General Merrick Garland, local
leaders and community experts at the
White House on Monday, July 12.
Accompanying Adams on his trip
to Washington was Deputy Borough
President Ingrid Martin-Lewis and his
communication chief, Stefan Ringel. Also
at the meeting was House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi (D-CA).
“I applaud President Joe Biden for calling
this critical meeting to address rising
crime, and for his commitment to
take on the gun violence epidemic in our
city and in our country. It is so important
to the safety of New Yorkers that all
levels of government work together and
take action to fi ght and prevent crime,”
Adams said.
“To achieve our shared goal of reducing
gun violence, it is critical that the partnership
between New York City and the federal
government include both long-term
crime prevention strategies and immediate
interventions that stop the shootings
now and get the guns off of our streets,”
he added.
Adams, a former New York City police
captain, said he was confi dent the Biden
administration would focus on fi nding
and prosecuting the dirty gun dealers,
straw purchasers and traffi ckers who
fl ood our streets with handguns.
“At the same time, we must work
together to deal with the feeders of crime
and violence, including funding for young
people aging out of foster care, youth
employment, job training, and learning
disability screenings and help,” he said.
According to the New York Post, Adams
told a TV crew outside the White House
that he rejected the president’s call to
increase police forces in order to combat
illegal guns.
“Th e fi rst thing we need to do is to do an
assessment of how we are using our police
offi cers now. Far too many police offi -
cers are doing clerical duty. Far too many
police offi cers are patrolling in groups,”
Adams told reporters.
Calling the meeting productive, Adams
concluded that he looked forward “to
working with the president as a true partner
to create a safer New York City and a
safer country.”
AG recovers $590K in minimum wage violations for JFK airline workers
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Airport workers at JFK have been
locked in a yearslong battle with an international
ground services corporation over
its alleged unfair labor practices.
New York State Attorney General Letitia
James announced an agreement with airline
service company Eulen America for
failing to reimburse employees more than
half a million dollars for the laundering
costs of their required uniforms that was
unlawfully deducted from their paychecks.
Under the agreement, Eulen — which
provides passenger services at JFK Airport
and a subcontractor to American Airlines
— will deliver $590,000 to approximately
1,500 workers who were forced to pay for
laundry costs out of their minimum wage
paychecks. New York Labor Law requires
employers to reimburse minimum wage
workers who are required to wear uniforms
for laundering costs at a fi xed rate
per week.
Eulen’s failure to follow the law led to
consistent minimum wage violations from
2014 to 2020.
Th e attorney general launched her probe
into Eulen in November of 2019. Th e
investigation revealed that between Feb.
21, 2014, and May 11, 2020, Eulen failed
to reimburse its workers for their uniform
maintenance/laundry, resulting in illegal
deductions of these costs from employees’
paychecks.
Th e law requires companies to pay for
laundry costs as part of the minimum
wage and any legally required overtime
rate for all hours worked over 40 in a
workweek. In addition to the unpaid laundry
reimbursements, Eulen was found
to have failed to pay the minimum wage
established by the Port Authority during
the week of Sept. 14, 2015.
“Th e dedicated and hardworking workers
at airports across the tri-state area
deserve to be compensated fairly for their
labor and reimbursed for what the law
clearly lays out,” James said. “For nearly
six years, Eulen failed its workers by illegally
and consistently refusing to reimburse
them or uniform laundering, forcing
workers to pay laundry costs out of their
minimum wage paychecks. But today,
we’re delivering nearly $600,000 in stolen
wages back into the pockets of these
workers, especially crucial as New Yorkers
continue to suff er the economic eff ects of
COVID-19.”
Based on these failures, James concluded
that Eulen engaged in persistent and repeated
violations of New York state labor laws.
Eulen has agreed to adhere to all federal,
state and local labor laws going forward and
may face legal action if they fail to comply.
Th e $590,000 in monetary restoration
will be distributed to workers who should
have been reimbursed for laundering their
uniforms. Along with monetary restitution,
Eulen has also agreed to additional
terms to ensure pay equity moving forward,
including the following:
• Compliance with all labor laws
• Th e posting of notices with information
on employee rights, wage and hour laws,
and the right to not fear retaliation for
speaking out about labor issues
• Compliance with all record-keeping
requirements laid out in New York
Labor Laws
• Th e maintenance of all employment
documents, documents related to
employment practices, and records on
employee complaints for six years
• Th e implementation of an independent
third-party administrator to identify
and contact eligible workers and prepare
and distribute payments, as well
as to provide the Offi ce of the Attorney
General with a written plan for this disbursement
process.
QNS reached out to Eulen America and
did not receive a response by press time.
Read more on QNS.com.
Photo by Ingrid Martin-Lewis
Brooklyn Borough President and NYC Democratic Mayoral Nominee Eric Adams, third from left, with
President Joe Biden at the White House.
QNS fi le photo
Airport workers at JFK will be compensated for minimum wage violations in an agreement
announced by Attorney General Letitia James.
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