Attorney General James Recovers $750,000 in Stolen Wages for Cell Phone Company Employees

September 20, 2024

NEW YORK - New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced that she is delivering $750,000 in stolen wages to employees of Best Wireless, a retail cell phone company, that stole employees' wages and retaliated against employees who complained. An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) discovered that Best Wireless, a former certified Verizon retailer that had 29 stores and approximately 450 employees across New York City, Long Island, and Rockland County, engaged in numerous labor violations over several years. The company illegally deducted wages for lost, stolen, and missing merchandise, refused to pay overtime or provide breaks, and charged employees for their uniforms and background checks. As a result of OAG's investigation, Best Wireless will return $750,000 to current and former employees who were victims of wage theft. Verizon has terminated its relationship with Best Wireless and the owner, Nishant Garg, sold the business, but he will be required to report to OAG if he ever serves in a senior management or ownership role for a new company.

"Every worker should receive the fair treatment and full compensation they have earned and deserve," said Attorney General James. "Best Wireless refused to provide to this hundreds of employees, threatening their livelihoods and flagrantly violating the laws designed to keep New York workers safe. With today's agreement, we are returning this money to the employees who earned it. I will always stand up to greedy employers who cheat workers out of their hard-earned money."

In 2022, a district manager at Best Wireless in TriBeCa filed a complaint with Verizon's corporate office related to unfair pay deductions and a lack of breaks or overtime pay. He also discussed his concerns with his fellow employees. The day after he filed the complaint, the district manager was fired and threatened with legal action through a cease-and-desist letter from Best Wireless. Over the next five months, he received two additional cease-and-desist letters threatening further legal action. Best Wireless also denied the former employee's application for unemployment benefits, claiming that he had resigned instead of being fired. The former employee brought his case to The Legal Aid Society, which then referred the matter to OAG.

Attorney General James launched an investigation into Best Wireless for potential retaliation against the district manager. The investigation confirmed the suspected retaliation and revealed several additional cases of retaliation against employees who had previously complained about unfair labor practices.

One employee shared that after complaining to Human Resources about pay and sick time violations, as well as a lack of commission pay, Best Wireless management began harassing her, later cutting her scheduled hours without warning. When she called Best Wireless management about this, she was told that management can do whatever they want.

Another employee was fired after notifying management that New York City labor law requires 72 hours' notice for schedule changes. This was in response to last-minute schedule changes that conflicted with the employee's school schedule.

Two individuals reported fellow employees stealing money from the cash register - one was cut off from communication and excluded from commission opportunities; the other was told that because the individual who was stealing had been with the company longer, the employee reporting the theft would either be fired or transferred. The employee was transferred to a store location over an hour away from the original store. He was later fired.

When a new employee reported concerns, including the lack of a silent alarm or armored truck, scheduling that left employees working alone most days, prohibition on lunch breaks when working alone, weekly meetings on her days off, and no managers in-store, she was told "you will either quit or you will get fired." She was then fired.

The OAG investigation also uncovered a wide range of violations impacting approximately 450 employees, including:

• Charging employees for lost or stolen merchandise, uniform purchases, and background check fees;
• Failing to provide overtime pay;
• Failing to pay overtime to employees that Best Wireless misclassified as overtime-exempt;
• Failing to provide employees with regular paystubs and hiring notices;
• Failing to pay commissions and setting up a fraudulent commission structure;
• Failing to provide paid breaks of short duration;
• Refusing to allow employees to take lunch breaks while still deducting employees' pay as if the breaks had been taken; and
• Firing or reducing scheduled hours of employees who complained about these practices.

These actions are illegal under the New York Labor Law and/or the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Best Wireless had 29 New York stores including five in Brooklyn, six in Manhattan, 11 in Queens, three on Staten Island, one in Patchogue, one in Wading River, one in New Hyde Park, and one in Orangeburg. There are also six stores in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

Best Wireless will pay $750,000 directly to OAG to be distributed to current and former employees impacted by the company's wrongdoing. Best Wireless is no longer operating as an authorized Verizon retailer. If the company's owner, Nishant Garg, ever becomes involved as an owner or a senior manager in another company, he must provide notice to the OAG within 30 days of assuming the role. If he ever becomes involved as an owner or as a senior manager in another New York company, he is required to provide an OAG-approved training for all managers and employees on workers' rights under local, state, and federal law.

Attorney General James has made it a priority to combat wage theft, especially in industries employing low-wage workers. In April 2024, Attorney General James secured nearly $230,000 for building employees cheated out of fair pay. In November 2023, Attorney General James recovered $328 million for Uber and Lyft drivers whose earnings were shortchanged for years. In August 2023, Attorney General James recovered $300,000 in unpaid wages for New York City nail salon workers. In March 2023, Attorney General James recovered $24,000 in stolen wages for former employees of a worker cooperative. In October 2022, Attorney General James secured $90,000 in stolen and unpaid wages for more than a dozen former employees of a commercial dry cleaner in Queens. In July 2022, Attorney General James delivered $500,000 to current and former employees of a Manhattan bar for enduring sexual harassment, discrimination, and wage theft. In May 2022, Attorney General James recovered more than $2.9 million for hundreds of New York City Marriott workers who were denied full severance pay.

This matter was handled by Assistant Attorneys General Kristen Ferguson and Jessica Agarwal with assistance from Legal Assistants Berenice Peck and Yadira Filpo, under the supervision of Civil Enforcement Section Chief Fiona Kaye and Bureau Chief Karen Cacace, all of the Labor Bureau. Data analysis was provided by Data Analyst Casey Marescot under the supervision of Director Victoria Khan and Deputy Director Gautam Sisodia, all of the Research and Analytics Department. The Labor Bureau is a part of the Division for Social Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.