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Juan Baten, a 22-year-old Guatemalan immigrant worker at the factory, died after falling into a mixing machine used to mix tortilla dough. Investigations into the working conditions at the factory in response to the fatality uncovered additional violations. The New York State Workers Compensation Board found that the factory owner had more than five employees between March 28, 2008 and January 24, 2011, and yet failed to have workers' compensation insurance required by law. Additional investigation revealed that the employer paid his employees in cash and did not report all of his employees on his company's New York State tax filings for the purpose of paying unemployment insurance contributions. During the six-year period from 2006 to 2011, the employer had not paid 28 employees legally required overtime wages.
Section Chief Felice Sontupe
Caught in Machine
Brooklyn
New York
January 24, 2011
Unavailable
| First | Last | Age | Title | Employer | Injury Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Info unavailable | Info unavailable | Info unavailable | Info unavailable | Tortilleria Chinantla Inc. | Caught in Machine; Wage Theft |
| Juan | Baten | 22 | Info unavailable | Tortilleria Chinantla Inc. | Caught in Machine; Wage Theft |
| Name | Type | Title | Plea Information | Conviction Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tortilleria Chinantla Inc. | Entity | Entity | Pleaded guilty to one count of a violation of Workers' Compensation Law for Failure to Secure the Payment of Compensation for more than 5 employees, a class E felony, and one count of a violation of Labor Law Sec. 198-a, a class A misdemeanor. | Sentenced to a conditional discharge. |
|
Penal Crimes Charged
Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree (N.Y. Pen. Law Sec. 175.35); Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree (N.Y. Pen. Law 175.35) |
Other Crimes Charged
Failure to Secure the Payment of Compensation for More than Five Employees (Workers Compensation Law Sec. 52.1(a)); Willful Failure to Pay Contributions- Unemployment Insurance (Labor Law Sec. 633); Failure to Pay Wages (Labor Law Sec. 198-a) |
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| Erasmo Ponce | Individual | Owner/ Chief Executive | Pleaded guilty to a violation of Labor Law Sec 198-a, a class A misdemeanor. | Ordered to pay $447,943.11 in restitution. Of that, $300,000 goes to cover a death benefit paid by the state Worker's Compensation Board to the daughter of Juan Baten, the worker killed at the factory in January 2011. Another $138,000 goes to the New York State Department of Labor to cover overtime wages owed Ponce's 28 employees during the six-year period, from 2006 to 2011, in which they were not paid the legally required overtime wages. The remaining $9,943.11 goes to formerly unpaid unemployment insurance taxes. Ponce was also sentenced to serve 90 days in jail. |
|
Penal Crimes Charged
Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree (N.Y. Pen. Law Sec. 175.35); Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree (N.Y. Pen. Law 175.35) |
Other Crimes Charged
Failure to Secure the Payment of Compensation for More than Five Employees (Workers Compensation Law Sec. 52.1(a)); Willful Failure to Pay Contributions- Unemployment Insurance (Labor Law Sec. 633); Failure to Pay Wages (Labor Law Sec. 198-a) |
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