MANHATTAN — A group of 35 delivery drivers is suing Eli Zabar for forcing them to work up to 70 hours per week without paying them any overtime.
For 60-year-old Yorkville resident Zoric Zvonko, a typical day on the job at Eli's Bread on East 91st Street lasted 12 to 14 hours, while he only got paid for 8. He would start up his truck at 4 a.m. and deliver bread and vegetables to vendors all day, before ending his shift at the loading docks, where he says he worked for free.
"If you refused [extra] work, the consequences were that you would get fired," said Zvonko, who worked for the Upper East Side bakery for nearly 20 years before quitting earlier this year.
And conditions were no different during the holidays, he said.
"I remember every major holiday, it didn't matter whether it was a Jewish, Christian or Muslim holiday, we were working [overtime]," he continued. "Nobody paid you for that. It was modern slavery."
Zvonko is one of dozens of drivers — including current and former employees of Zabar — involved in a class-action lawsuit against the company and the owner, demanding compensation for unpaid overtime, according to the suit filed with New York federal court this summer.
If employees work more than an allotted 40 hours per week, they should've been paid one and a half times their hourly rate, the lawsuit says.
Zvonko made $8.50 an hour and usually worked 56 to 70 hours during a 5-day week, but Eli's Bread did not keep accurate records of employee hours, and did not require them to punch in or out, he said.
"They paid you by the day, which could be anywhere from eight to 16 hours, but you'd get paid for the eight," he said. "For the Christmas bonus, the management got money. We got a T-shirt."
The job itself was also difficult because drivers were pushed hard to get to the stores on schedule and some drivers had routes that made them travel 500 miles in one day, he said.
"They tried to squeeze every little thing from you," Zvonko said. "For instance, if you finished early they would find something for you, like 'go to Jersey and bring a machine to the bakery,' or 'go to Long Island and bring some veggies to the store.' They would always find something to give you."
He said Eli's took advantage of the drivers, many of whom were from other countries and had no other income because they didn't have the education or experience to go elsewhere.
In his 20 years on the job, Zvonko said he was only late once because he feared losing his job.
Eli's has become an Upper East Side "institution," according to its website, which lists 11 different store locations in the one neighborhood alone, including Eli's Bread, Eli's Essentials, Eli's Table, Eli's List, Eli's Market and E.A.T., a gourmet food takeout store and gift shop.
In another complaint that is being investigated by the city's Department of Consumer Affairs, another Eli's worker said he was suspended after he used allotted paid sick time to deal with medical issues. The complaint was filed with the DCA in October last year.
The DCA declined to provide further details about the case since it is still pending.
Eli Zabar declined to comment.
"We are seeking the money to which they are entitled," said Vincent Bauer, the attorney representing the drivers, but declined to say how much compensation they're seeking.
