Mar. 12—The U.S. Department of Labor asked a federal court to issue a temporary restraining order and injunction against Vishav Inc., which operates as Mega Liquor & Smoke — and its owner, Bhola Singh, to stop the Granger, Indiana-based company from retaliating against and intimidating employees owed back wages and liquidated damages.

Singh owns and operates 61 Mega Liquor & Smoke stores in Indiana and Michigan, including in Logansport (formerly known as D&J Liquors) and Rochester.

Filed on Feb. 29, 2024, by the department’s Office of the Solicitor in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana in South Bend, the request for a restraining order is prompted by investigations by the department’s Wage and Hour Division, according to a press release.

In its filing, the department alleges that after signing a settlement agreement on Sept. 29, 2023, to pay $354,633 in back wages and liquidated damages to 156 employees for minimum wage and overtime violations that occurred between Nov. 9, 2020 and Nov. 6, 2022, Singh engaged in an ongoing kickback scheme to deprive current and former employees of the money they are owed using threats, intimidation and coercion. The Fair Labor Standards Act bans employers from retaliating against workers.

Singh repeatedly demanded employees sign receipts falsely attesting they had been paid back wages and liquidated damages when those payments had not been made. Singh’s coercion included threats of termination to employees to convince them to assist him in this scheme.

The department is asking the court to prohibit the company and Singh from:

—Interrogating, inquiring about or discussing with any employees or former employees of Mega Liquor & Smoke their potential or actual communications with the U.S. Department of Labor and its representatives;

—Withholding wages, terminating or threatening to terminate workers for cooperating with investigators.