Daily News Record
Jessica Pallay
NEW YORK - In one of his final actions as the New York State attorney general, Eliot Spitzer filed two lawsuits against New York City downtown retailer Yellow Rat Bastard and its 10 affiliated stores for labor-law violations. Spitzer was inaugurated governor of New York on Jan. 1.
The first suit, filed on behalf of 1,000 of the company's employees, seeks $2 million in unpaid wages, minimum-wage underpayments, overtime compensation, interest and damages. Spitzer also filed a second suit, for $56,0000, to compensate employees that were retaliated against for cooperating with the attorney general's investigation. Both lawsuits were filed on Dec. 28 in State Supreme Court in Manhattan.
The labor-law violations were first brought to Spitzer's attention in May 2006 when the Retail Action Project (RAP), an initiative of the economic-advocacy group Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES), filed a complaint, alleging such violations as illegal wages, insufficient benefits, and abusive and unhealthy work environments. The organization also staged a number of rallies in front of Yellow Rat Bastard's flagship store at 480 Broadway.
In October store owner Henry Ishay was arraigned on misdemeanor charges stemming from his failure to maintain payroll records required by law.
According to the attorney general's office, the Supreme Court was expected last Thursday to permanently freeze $1 million in assets belonging to Alla Levy, who co-owns the string of stores with husband Henry Ishay, as well as Isaac Gross, Nissim Levy and Jack Ishay, until the case is resolved.
Calls to Henry Ishay were not returned by presstime.