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Samad Uddin -- also known as Saman Khan -- owns Wyckoff-based Manhattan Halal Gyro King, which was incorporated four years ago and offers dine-in, delivery and catering services at "Gyro King" restaurants in Elmwood Park, Teaneck and two in Paterson.
The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division had requested information from Uddin as part of a compliance review that began in November 2020, federal authorities said Thursday, Dec. 15.
When that failed, the department issued an administrative subpoena in December 2020 -- also with no success, they said.
In response, the department’s Office of the Solicitor went to U.S. District Court in Newark and:
- obtained a court order from a federal judge in May 2021 ordering Uddin to comply with the administrative subpoena;
- filed a motion asking the court to find Uddin in civil contempt and fine him for not complying;
- obtained a court order in March 2022 that boosted the fines to $1,000 a day and sought payment of $63,000 worth of to-date fines;
- again demanded that Uddin comply with the administrative subpoena within one week of the order with a warning that an arrest by federal authorities was possible;
- asked a judge to have Uddin taken into custody and remain there until they complied with the subpoena and the March 2022 court order.
A U.S. District Court judge approved the final request on Monday, Dec. 12.
“The arrest of Manhattan Halal Gyro King’s owner Samad Uddin shows that the U.S. Department of Labor will not tolerate an employer’s unwillingness to comply with federal investigators,” said Regional Solicitor Jeffrey Rogoff in New York. “The use of U.S. Marshals by a federal court also proves that we will use every available instrument to show employers are not above the law.”
“The Wage and Hour Division must have access to an employer’s records to ensure their business’ pay practices and other operations comply with regulations in the Fair Labor Standards Act,” added Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Mark Watson Jr. in Philadelphia. “Employers cannot avoid their legal responsibilities by refusing to cooperate with investigators and withholding records they request.”
Uddin, who was raised in Paterson, came to the United States from the city of Sylhet in Bangladesh.
Coincidentally, the city of Paterson on Friday, Dec. 16, is celebrating Bijoy Dibos -- Bangladesh Victory Day -- which commemorates the victory of the Allied Forces High Command over the Pakistani forces in the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.
"With the largest Bangladeshi population in the state, many community members will be present" for a flag-raising event, a release from Mayor Andre Sayegh's office on Thursday reads.
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