Motion for Writ in Jiarui Xing, Peng Guo v. Rahongbu Malatang Inc., Doe Yang (first name unknown), Jane Doe (real name unknown)| Trellis.Law

On May 08, 2024 a Complaint,Petition was filed involving a dispute between Jiarui Xing, Peng Guo, and Doe Yang, Jane Doe, Rahongbu Malatang Inc., for Commercial - Other (Labor) in the District Court of Queens County.

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FILED: QUEENS COUNTY CLERK 05/08/2024 05:44 PM INDEX NO. 709939/2024
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 1 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 05/09/2024

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF QUEENS
COUNTY OF QUEENS

Jiarui Xing and Peng Guo, Index No.

Plaintiffs,
Plaintiffs designate Queens
- against -
County as the place of trial.

Rahongbu Malatang Inc., Doe Yang (first name
unknown) and Jane Doe (real name unknown),
SUMMONS

Defendants.

TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANTS:

YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in this action, and to serve
a copy of your answer, or, if the complaint is not served with this summons, to serve a notice of
appearance, on Plaintiff’s Attorney(s) within 20 days after the service of this summons, exclusive
of the day of service (or within 30 days after the service is complete if this summons is not
personally delivered to you within the State of New York); and in case of your failure to appear or
answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in this complaint.

The basis of venue designated is that a substantial part of the events or omissions giving
rise to the claim occurred within the County of Queens, State of New York.

Dated: April 15, 2024
Flushing, New York
HANG & ASSOCIATES, PLLC

By: _/s/ Yongjin Bae____________________
Yongjin Bae, Esq.
136-20 38th Avenue, Suite 10G
Flushing, New York 11354
Tel: (718) 353-8588
Fax: (718) 353-6288
Email: ybae@hanglaw.com
Attorney for Plaintiffs

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To Defendants:

Rahongbu Malatang Inc.
45-15 162nd St
Flushing, NY 11358

Doe Yang (first name unknown)
45-15 162nd St
Flushing, NY 11358

Jane Doe (real name unknown)
45-15 162nd St
Flushing, NY 11358

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SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF QUEENS

Jiarui Xing and Peng Guo,

Plaintiffs, Index No.

- against -

VERIFIED COMPLAINT
Rahongbu Malatang Inc., Doe Yang (first name
unknown) and Jane Doe (real name unknown),

Defendants.

Plaintiff Jiarui Xing and Peng Guo (hereinafter “Plaintiffs”), by and through his attorney,

HANG & ASSOCIATES, PLLC, as and for cause of action against the Defendants Rahongbu

Malatang Inc., Doe Yang (first name unknown) and Jane Doe (real name unknown) (hereinafter

collectively, “Defendants”) respectfully allege upon information and belief as follows:

INTRODUCTION

1. This action is brought by Plaintiffs against Defendants for alleged violations of the New

York Labor Law §§190 et seq. (“NYLL”), arising from Defendants’ various willful and

unlawful employment policies, patterns and/or practices.

2. Upon information and belief, Defendants have willfully and intentionally committed

widespread violations of the NYLL by engaging in a pattern and practice of failing to pay

their employees compensation for all hours worked, overtime compensation for all hours

worked over forty (40) each workweek, as well as failing to provide their employees,

including Plaintiffs, with wage notice at the time of hiring and wage statements.

3. Plaintiffs allege that pursuant to NYLL §190 et seq. and Title 12 of New York Codes,

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Rules and Regulations Part 146 (“NYCRR”) they are entitled to recover from the

Defendants: (1) unpaid overtime compensation, (2) compensation for failure to provide

wage notice at the time of hiring and failure to provide paystubs in violation of the NYLL,

(3) compensation for failure to timely pay wages, (4) “spread-of-hours” payment, (4)

liquidated damages equal to the sum of unpaid overtime pursuant to the NY Wage Theft

Prevention Act (“NYWTPA”), (5) failure to pay Plaintiffs promised wages and unjust

enrichment from Plaintiff; (6) prejudgment and post-judgment interest, and (7) attorney’s

fees and costs.

PLAINTIFF

Plaintiff Jiarui Xing

4. Plaintiff Jiarui Xing (hereinafter Plaintiff “Xing”) is an individual who resides in Queens

County, New York.

5. Upon information and belief, from on or around April 3, 2023, to February 18, 2024,

Plaintiff Xing was employed by Defendant Rahongbu Malatang Inc. as a back kitchen

worker for Defendants’ restaurant (hereinafter, “Rahongbu”). During his employment with

Defendants, Plaintiff Xing’s daily duties included preparing and cutting food materials,

stirring and frying food, checking food supplies, and cleaning the kitchen.

Plaintiff Peng Guo

6. Plaintiff Peng Guo (hereinafter Plaintiff “Guo”) is an individual who resides in Queens

County, New York.

7. Upon information and belief, from on or around December 6, 2023, to February 26, 2024,

Plaintiff Guo was employed by Defendant Rahongbu Malatang Inc. as a back kitchen

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worker for Defendants’ restaurant (hereinafter, “Rahongbu”). During his employment with

Defendants, Plaintiff Guo’s daily duties included preparing and cutting food materials,

stirring and frying food, checking food supplies, and cleaning the kitchen.

DEFENDANTS

Corporate Defendant

8. Defendant Rahongbu Malatang Inc. is a corporation incorporated under the laws of New

York and has its principal place of business located at 45-15 162nd St, Queens, NY 11358.

9. Upon information and belief, the Corporate Defendant approximately has two employees.

Owner/Operator Defendants

10. Upon information and belief, Defendant Doe Yang (first name unknown) (hereinafter,

Defendant “Yang”), known as “Boss” to Plaintiff is the owner, chief executive officer,

shareholder, and/or managing agent of Corporate Defendant Rahongbu Malatang Inc. and

acted intentionally and maliciously and is an employer pursuant to the NYLL §2 and the

regulations thereunder; and is jointly and severally liable with Corporate Defendant.

11. Upon information and belief, Defendant Yang participated in the day-to-day operations of

Defendant Corporate Rahongbu Malatang Inc. Defendant Yang had the power to hire and

fire employees, determine the wages and compensation of the employees of Defendants,

including Plaintiff, approve work schedules and workload of the employees, and maintain

employees’ records.

12. Upon information and belief, Defendant Yang determined Plaintiff’s pay rate.

13. Upon information and belief, Defendant Jane Doe (hereinafter, Defendant “Doe”), known

as “Lady Boss” to Plaintiff, is the owner, chief executive officer, shareholder, and/or
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managing agent of Corporate Defendant Rahongbu Malatang Inc. and acted intentionally

and maliciously and is an employer pursuant to the NYLL §2 and the regulations

thereunder; and is jointly and severally liable with Corporate Defendant.

14. Upon information and belief, Defendant Doe participated in the day-to-day operations of

Defendant Corporate Defendant Rahongbu Malatang Inc. Defendant Doe had the power to

hire and fire employees, determine the wages and compensation of the employees of

Defendants, including Plaintiff, approve work schedules and workload of the employees,

and maintain employees’ records.

15. Upon information and belief, Defendant Doe determined Plaintiff’s pay rate.

16. Plaintiff has fulfilled all conditions precedent to the institution of this action and/or

conditions have been waived.

STATEMENT OF FACT

17. Defendants committed the following alleged acts knowingly, intentionally, and willfully.

18. Defendants knew that the nonpayment of overtime pay, failure to provide the required

wage notice at the time of hiring, failure to provide the required wage statement with every

payment of wages, failure to pay “spread-of-hours” premium, would financially injure

Plaintiff and violate state and federal laws.

Plaintiff Xing

19. Upon information and belief, from in or around April 3, 2023, to February 18, 2024,

Plaintiff Xing was employed by Defendant Rahongbu Malatang Inc. as a back kitchen

worker for Defendants’ restaurant Rahongbu (“Rahongbu” or the “Restaurant”). During

his employment with Defendants, Plaintiff Xing’s daily duties included preparing and

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cutting food materials, stirring and frying food, checking food supplies, and cleaning the

kitchen.

20. Upon information and belief, Plaintiff Xing was hired by Operator Defendant Yang in or

around April 2023.

21. Upon information and belief, Plaintiff Xing worked six days per week, normally with

Tuesdays off, from 10 am to 10 pm with a 15-minute lunch time, which was interrupted by

Defendants or customers.

22. Thus, Plaintiff Xing worked seventy-two (72) hours per week.

23. Upon information and belief, Plaintiff Xing was paid weekly in cash.

24. Upon information and belief, from April 2023, Plaintiff Xing was paid a fixed rate of $800

per week.

25. Upon information and belief, from May 2023 to December 2023, Plaintiff Xing was paid

a fixed rate of $900 per week.

26. Upon information and belief, from January 2024, Plaintiff Xing was paid a fixed rate of

$1,000 per week.

27. Plaintiff Xing was not provided with a written wage notice, in Chinese (the primary

language identified by Plaintiff Xing) when he was hired, including but not limited to

information about his rate of pay and basis thereof, allowances, including tip and meals

credits, claimed by Defendants, and the regular payday designated by Defendants.

28. Throughout his employment with Defendants, Plaintiff Xing was not compensated for all

hours worked above forty (40) in each workweek according to state and federal laws.

29. Throughout his employment with Defendants, Plaintiff Xing was not overtime-exempt

under federal and state laws.

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30. Defendants did not provide Plaintiff Xing with a correct wage statement with every wage

payment.

31. Defendants did not provide Plaintiff Xing with “spread-of-hours” premium for the days

that Plaintiff Xing worked more than ten hours.

Plaintiff Guo

32. Upon information and belief, from in or around December 6, 2023, to February 26, 2024,

Plaintiff Guo was employed by Defendant Rahongbu Malatang Inc. as a back kitchen

worker for Defendants’ restaurant Rahongbu (“Rahongbu” or the “Restaurant”). During

his employment with Defendants, Plaintiff Guo’s daily duties included preparing and

cutting food materials, stirring and frying food, checking food supplies, and cleaning the

kitchen.

33. Upon information and belief, Plaintiff Guo was hired by Operator Defendant Yang in or

around December 2023.

34. Upon information and belief, Plaintiff Guo worked six days per week, normally with

Mondays or Tuesdays off, from 10 am to 10 pm with a 15-minute lunch time, which was

interrupted by Defendants or customers.

35. Thus, Plaintiff Guo worked seventy-two (72) hours per week.

36. Upon information and belief, Plaintiff Guo was paid weekly in cash.

37. Upon information and belief, from December 6, 2023, to December 11, 2023, Plaintiff was

paid a fixed rate of $800 per week.

38. Upon information and belief, from December 12, 2023 to February 26, 2024, Plaintiff was

paid a fixed rate of $850 per week.

39. Plaintiff Guo was not provided with a written wage notice, in Chinese (the primary

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language identified by Plaintiff Guo) when he was hired, including but not limited to

information about his rate of pay and basis thereof, allowances, including tip and meals

credits, claimed by Defendants, and the regular payday designated by Defendants.

40. Throughout his employment with Defendants, Plaintiff Guo was not compensated for all

hours worked above forty (40) in each workweek according to state and federal laws.

41. Throughout his employment with Defendants, Plaintiff Guo was not overtime-exempt

under federal and state laws.

42. Defendants did not provide Plaintiff Guo with a correct wage statement with every wage

payment.

43. Defendants did not provide Plaintiff Guo with “spread-of-hours” premium for the days that

Plaintiff Guo worked more than ten hours.

COUNT I
[Violation of New York Labor Law—Overtime Pay]

44. Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporates by reference all preceding paragraphs as though fully

set forth herein.

45. Pursuant to the New York Wage Theft Prevention Act, an employer who fails to pay proper

overtime compensation shall be liable, in addition to the amount of any underpayments,

for liquidated damages equal to the total of such under-payments found to be due the

employee.

46. Defendants’ failure to pay Plaintiffs their overtime premiums violated the NYLL.

47. Defendants’ failure to pay Plaintiffs was not in good faith.

COUNT II
[Violation of New York Labor Law—Time of Hire Wage Notice Requirement]

48. Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporates by reference all preceding paragraphs as though fully

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set forth herein.

49. The NYLL and supporting regulations require employers to provide written notice of the

rate or rates of pay and the basis thereof, whether paid by the hour, shift, day, week, salary,

piece, commission, or other; allowances, if any, claimed as a part of minimum wage,

including tip, meal, or lodging allowances; the regular pay day designated by the employer;

the name of the employer; any “doing business as” names used by the employer; the

physical address of employer’s main office or principal place of business, and a mailing

address if different; the telephone number of the employer. NYLL §195-1(a).

50. Defendants intentionally failed to provide notice to employees in violation of New York

Labor Law § 195, which requires all employers to provide written notice in the employee’s

primary language about the terms and conditions of employment related to rate of pay,

regular pay cycle and rate of overtime on his or her first day of employment.

51. Defendants not only did not provide notice to each employee at the Time of Hire but also

failed to provide notice to Plaintiffs thereafter.

52. Due to Defendants’ violations of New York Labor Law, each Plaintiff is entitled to recover

from Defendants, jointly and severally, $50 for each workday that the violation occurred

or continued to occur, up to $5,000, together with costs and attorneys’ fees pursuant to

New York Labor Law. N.Y. Lab. Law §198(1-b).

COUNT III
[Violation of New York Labor Law—New York Paystub Requirement]

53. Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporates by reference all preceding paragraphs as though fully

set forth herein.

54. The NYLL and supporting regulations require employers to provide detailed paystub

information to employees every payday. NYLL §195-1(d).

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55. Defendants have failed to make a good faith effort to comply with the New York Labor

Law with respect to compensation of each Plaintiff and did not provide the paystub on or

after each Plaintiff’s payday.

56. Due to Defendants’ violations of New York Labor Law, each Plaintiff is entitled to recover

from Defendants, jointly and severally, $250 for each workday of the violation, up to

$5,000 for each Plaintiff together with costs and attorneys’ fees pursuant to New York

Labor Law N.Y. Lab. Law §198(1-d).

COUNT VI
[Violation of New York Labor Law— “Spread of Hours” Premium]

57. Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporates by reference all preceding paragraphs as though fully

set forth herein.

58. Pursuant to the NYLL, an employer shall pay its employees an extra hour’s pay at the basic

minimum hourly wage rate for every day that the employees work an interval in excess of

ten hours. 12 N.Y.C.R.R. §142-2.4.

59. Pursuant to the New York Wage Theft Prevention Action, an employer who fails to pay

proper the “spread of hours” compensation shall be liable, in addition to the amount of any

underpayments, for liquidated damages equal to the total of such underpayments found to

be due the employee.

60. Here, throughout their employment, Plaintiffs worked more than ten hours a day for six

days each week whenever they were asked to work the full-day schedule.

61. Defendants failed to pay Plaintiffs the “spread of hours” premium.

62. Defendants have acted willfully and have either known that their conduct violated the

NYLL or have shown a reckless disregard for the matter of whether their conduct violated

the NYLL. Defendants have not acted in good faith with respect to the conduct alleged
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herein.

63. Due to Defendants’ violations of the NYLL, Plaintiffs are entitled to recover from

Defendants, jointly and severally, the spread-of-hours, liquidated damages, and attorneys’

fees and costs for this action, including interest.

PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs respectfully request that this Court enter a judgment providing the

following relief:

a) A declaratory judgment that the practices complained of herein are unlawful under NYLL;

b) An injunction against Corporate Defendants, its officers, agents, successors, employees,

representatives and any and all persons acting in concert with them as provided by law,

from engaging in each of unlawful practices and policies set forth herein;

c) Award Plaintiffs unpaid wages and unpaid overtime due under the New York Labor Law;

d) An award of damage for Defendants’ failure to provide wage notice at the time of hiring

as required under the NYLL;

e) An award of damages for Defendants’ failure to provide wage statements as required under

the NYLL;

f) An award of damages for Defendants’ failure to pay Plaintiff’ “spread of hours” premium

pursuant to NYWTPA;

g) An award of costs and expenses of this action together with reasonable attorneys’ and

expert fees pursuant to NYLL;

h) An award of liquidated and/or punitive damages as a result of Defendants’ knowing and

willful failure to pay overtime compensation to Plaintiff under NYLL;

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i) On the Sixth cause of action against Defendants in an amount to be determined at trial plus

liquidated damages, interest, attorneys’ fees, and costs;

j) An award of costs and expenses of this action together with reasonable attorneys’ and

expert fees pursuant to NYLL §§ 198 and 663;

k) The cost and disbursements of this action;

l) An award of prejudgment and post-judgment fees; and

m) Such other and further legal and equitable relief as this Court deems necessary, just, and

proper.

JURY TRIAL DEMAND

Pursuant to New York Consolidated Laws, Civil Practice Law and Rules - CVP § 4102, the

Plaintiff demands a trial by jury on all questions of fact raised by the complaint.

Dated: Flushing, New York HANG & ASSOCIATES, PLLC.

April 15, 2024 /s/ Yongjin Bae
Yongjin Bae, Esq.
136-20 38th Avenue, Suite 10G
Flushing, New York 11354
Tel: 718.353.8588
Email: ybae@hanglaw.com
Attorney for Plaintiffs

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VERIFICATION

STATE OF NEW YORK )

COUNTY OF Quccus A AM)

Peng Guo, being duly sworn, deposes and says:

My name is Peng Guo.

1. I am the Plaintiff in the above-entitled action.
2. 1 have read the foregoing Complaint and know the content thereof; and the same
is true to my own knowledge, except as to the matters therein stated to be alleged
upon information and belief, and as to those matters, I believe them to be true.

Dated: O

R5 n , New York

By:
Plaintiff Peng Guo
Sw rn to me before and on the

day of 2024

JianHang
otary Public NOTARY PUBLIC, STATEOF NEWYORK
Registration No. 02HA0023139
Qualified in NassauCounty
Commission ExpiresApril 3, 2028

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VERIFICATION

STATE OF NFW YORK )

) ss.:
COUNTY OF Queens )

Jiarui Xing, being duly sworn, deposes and says:

My name is Jiarui Xing.

1. I am the Plaintiff in the above-entitled action.
2. I have read the Complaint and know the content and the same is
foregoing thereof;
true to my own knowledge, except as to the matters therein stated to be alleged
upon information and belief, and as to those matters, 1 believe them to be true.

Dated: / ) O2

, New York

Plaintiff Jiarui Xin
Sworn to me and on the
forp
day of 1 1L2024
o ,,,,,

Not'
Pu c

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Index No.:

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF QUEENS

Jiarui Xing and Peng Guo,
Plaintiffs,
Index No.
- against -
VERIFIED COMPLAINT
Rahongbu Malatang Inc., Doe Yang (first name unknown) AND JURY TRIAL DEMAND
and Jane Doe (real name unknown),
Defendants.

SUMMONS and VERIFIED COMPLAINT

HANG & ASSOCIATES, PLLC

By: ________/s/ Yongjin Bae______________
Yongjin Bae, Esq.
136-20 38th Avenue, Suite 10G
Flushing, NY 11354
T: (718) 353-8588
F: (718) 353-6288

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Document Filed Date

May 08, 2024

Case Filing Date

May 08, 2024

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Complaint,Petition: Jiarui Xing, Peng Guo v. Rahongbu Malatang Inc., Doe Yang (first name unknown), Jane Doe (real name unknown)

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