On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Sam Cummings approved a judgment against Lubbock-based Han Nara which operates several locations of Ashley Furniture.

The U.S. Department of Labor sued Han Nara on November 8 with allegations that the company failed to pay overtime for employees who worked more than 40 hours per week.  The DOL said the violations were between November 2011 and January 2016.

Nearly 600 employees were listed by name by the DOL.  They were owed more than $80,000 but the company must repay twice the amount – more than $160,000.  

On November 10, the Department of Labor documented in court records that the two sides reached an agreement. 

The judge’s order, based on that agreement, said Han Nara must pay for an auditor to review its compliance with labor laws twice a year for five years.  A footnote in the judge’s order also said Han Nara agreed to pay a $55,000 civil penalty in addition to the back-wages. 

Han Nara must pay the back-wages within 30 days of judge’s order. From there, the DOL will find the employees and distribute the money.

SPECIAL NOTE: On November 10, after the Department of Labor informed the court that both sides reached an agreement, some employees contacted DOL.  Repeatedly, DOL told them that our reporting was false and there was no agreement.

However, every court record – including the court records filed by DOL on November 10 – can be verified by anyone using the federal court system’s PACER. 

The November 10 document included the signatures of authorized individuals from both the DOL and Han Nara.  The judge signed off on the deal on November 23.

CLICK HERE to sign up for PACER which charges 10 cents per page for court records.  The case number is 5:16-cv-00256, and it can be found in the Northern District of Texas.  The case is styled Perez v. Han Nara Enterprises, LP d/b/a Ashley Furniture HomeStore.

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