A Connecticut sports bar and its owner were ordered by a federal court to pay almost $360,000 for threatening employees and terminating whistleblowers who participated in an OSHA inspection.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut found OSHA’s allegations against Milford Sports Bars LLC, doing business as Champions Grill and Bar, and its owner, Loren Drotos, were true and ordered them to pay their employees back pay and emotional distress damages
The order also granted the employees withheld compensation and punitive damages after Drotos violated the anti-retaliation provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act.
This order marks the first court decision involving retaliation claims asserted under both laws, according to the Department of Labor.
Drotos and the bar were ordered by the court to pay employees $359,485 with the breakdown being:
- $6,770 in back pay
- $2,715 in withheld wages
- $125,000 in emotional distress damages, and
- $225,000 in punitive damages.
The court order also prohibited future violations of the anti-retaliation provisions of the FLSA and OSH Act.
Terminated employees for participating in OSHA inspection
After an investigation in January 2022, OSHA filed a lawsuit alleging that Milford Sports Bars and Drotos – who is also known as Mark Roberts, Mark Drotos and Mark Lawrence – threatened an employee who asked to be paid the money they had earned and unlawfully terminated employees who participated in an OSHA inspection.
The agency also accused Drotos of sending a message to employees just days after the terminations telling them that they shouldn’t talk to OSHA or Department of Labor representatives.
“These employers’ egregious actions of firing workers for speaking to an OSHA inspector defy the law and place their employees at potential risk,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Galen Blanton. “Discouraging or preventing workers from participating in an OSHA inspection may mask or delay identification of hazards that could harm workers. Employees have a right to participate in OSHA inspections and to file a whistleblower complaint if their employer retaliates against them for exercising their rights.”