Local Bakery to Pay More Than $586K in Wage Law Violation Settlement

Talk about a lot of dough.

Jessica's Brick Oven Inc., located at 1600 Osgood St., will reportedly pay more than $586,000 in a settlement over claims the business violated state labor laws.

Attorney General Martha Coakley's office alleged that between January 2010 and November 2011, the business did not pay 115 of its employees overtime pay for hours they worked beyond 40 hours per week and that a supervisor threatened an employee with retaliation for pursuing overtime pay.

State law mandates that workers be paid time-and-a-half for hours worked beyond a 40-hour work week.

Coakley's office reportedly began investigating the business after employees came forward with complaints.

“Under Massachusetts law, workers deserve to be paid all of their wages including overtime,” Coakley said in a statement. “In many instances low-income workers depend on overtime pay just to get by.”

The settlement, Coakley's office said, calls for Jessica's to pay more than $586,000 in restitution to the employees and penalties for villating state wage laws. The settlement also includes a 50 percent pay cut for the company's president, lowering his pay to what it was before the violations.

Jessica's Brick Oven Bakery is a wholesale bakery that relocated to North Andover from Woburn in 2011. The company makes and distributes bread to many businesses in New England including Market Basket.