Indian Spice Owner Hit with $3 Million Tab for Unpaid Wages
The owner of a popular Park Slope restaurant, Mariam Khandakar, is facing a staggering $3 million bill in restitution and penalties after being found guilty by the state Department of Labor of failing to properly pay employees over several years.
According to the department's findings, Khandakar, the owner of Indian Spice at 351 Seventh Avenue, failed to provide workers with a minimum wage, failed to grant one day off from work per week, and did not maintain accurate pay records. The violations occurred over an eight-year period, from 2016 to 2024.
The largest single claim against Khandakar is owed by Raju Ahmed, who served as both a waiter and manager at the restaurant. Ahmed claims he worked seven days a week for years, only receiving time off on holidays like Thanksgiving or Eid, and is due $308,000.
The Department of Labor says it had exhausted other avenues before issuing the order to Khandakar. Under new authority given to the department this year, failure to pay could result in a lien being placed on Khandakar's property.
The case highlights the growing issue of labor exploitation in New York City. The Workers Justice Project reports that employees at Indian Spice typically worked 75-80 hour workweeks, with shifts lasting 11-12 hours.
Advocacy groups say workers' immigration status is often an issue when it comes to recovering unpaid wages. However, city and state officials have said that this is no barrier to receiving compensation.
The case has been aided by Brooklyn Legal Services, which helped secure unemployment benefits for the affected employees. An attorney at the organization noted that the lack of pay records made the process difficult, but ultimately led to the workers being awarded benefits.
City Councilmember Shahana Hanif welcomed the Department of Labor's findings and urged other victims of wage theft to visit the website of the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection for assistance.
The owner of a popular Park Slope restaurant, Mariam Khandakar, is facing a staggering $3 million bill in restitution and penalties after being found guilty by the state Department of Labor of failing to properly pay employees over several years.
According to the department's findings, Khandakar, the owner of Indian Spice at 351 Seventh Avenue, failed to provide workers with a minimum wage, failed to grant one day off from work per week, and did not maintain accurate pay records. The violations occurred over an eight-year period, from 2016 to 2024.
The largest single claim against Khandakar is owed by Raju Ahmed, who served as both a waiter and manager at the restaurant. Ahmed claims he worked seven days a week for years, only receiving time off on holidays like Thanksgiving or Eid, and is due $308,000.
The Department of Labor says it had exhausted other avenues before issuing the order to Khandakar. Under new authority given to the department this year, failure to pay could result in a lien being placed on Khandakar's property.
The case highlights the growing issue of labor exploitation in New York City. The Workers Justice Project reports that employees at Indian Spice typically worked 75-80 hour workweeks, with shifts lasting 11-12 hours.
Advocacy groups say workers' immigration status is often an issue when it comes to recovering unpaid wages. However, city and state officials have said that this is no barrier to receiving compensation.
The case has been aided by Brooklyn Legal Services, which helped secure unemployment benefits for the affected employees. An attorney at the organization noted that the lack of pay records made the process difficult, but ultimately led to the workers being awarded benefits.
City Councilmember Shahana Hanif welcomed the Department of Labor's findings and urged other victims of wage theft to visit the website of the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection for assistance.
This $3 million hit is huge, I mean who has that kind of cash just lying around? 
The fact that Indian Spice was getting away with exploiting its employees like this for 8 years is wild, 75-80 hour workweeks without a day off is basically slavery. 
It's not surprising the Department of Labor had to step in, they're like the unsung heroes of our workforce.
The lien on her property is a big deal, but I'm sure she'll figure out some way to wriggle out of it. 
This case needs to be a wake-up call for all business owners in NYC to take labor laws seriously. We can't have people getting taken advantage of like this and then just paying the fine. 
and I'm still on a high from seeing those breathtaking views! I swear, nature has a way of putting things into perspective... like how some people can make workers work 75-80 hour weeks? 
that's just crazy talk. And yeah, I totally get why the immigration status thing is an issue, but like, shouldn't we be focusing on paying workers fairly regardless of their background? 
it's all about treating others with respect and dignity, right? anyway, back to nature... have you guys ever been to that new park in Brooklyn that just opened up? I heard the wildflowers are out of this world 
and the fact that workers were working 75-80 hour weeks is just insane 
, he worked 7 days a week for years but only got time off on holidays 
. It's not fair that his immigration status was an issue 
. But yay 
to Brooklyn Legal Services for helping him out 
. And city officials are being super cool 
about it too. We gotta stand up for workers' rights 
.
if you ask me, Mariam Khandakar seems like a good person who got caught up in red tape 
all these accusations can be swept under the rug if we're not so quick to judge 
300k for Raju Ahmed is still ouch tho 
at least it's getting more attention to labor exploitation issues 