April 14, 2017 — Kristian Kristensen and his two Harbor Loop companies — Cape Ann Seafood Exchange and Zeus Packing — must pay more than $200,000 in liquidated damages to 132 employees in a settlement over violations of overtime and record keeping.
The U.S. Department of Labor said an investigation by its wage and hour division unearthed violations from October 2011 through September 2014. The probe determined Kristensen and the companies owed $203,998 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. Liquidated damages are monetary compensations for a loss or a person’s rights or property, awarded by a court judgment.
The Labor Department said the defendants paid the back wages in 2015, but refused to pay the damages and civil penalties assessed for the violations.
The Labor Department then filed suit in March 2016 in U.S. District Court in Boston to recover the unpaid amounts.
“After almost a year of litigation and negotiation, the defendants agreed to settle by consent judgment,” the Labor Department said in a statement. Kristensen did not return calls from the Times seeking comment Thursday afternoon.