One of the restaurants on the Labor Department's recently published list, involved in failure to pay overtime and working underage workers beyond hours allowed by law, responded via their Facebook Page yesterday to the story. El Charro's Bridgewater location posted the following on their Facebook Page
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division in Richmond found the operator of six Virginia restaurants failed to pay 49 salaried, non-exempt employees and six non-exempt hourly, tipped employees the proper overtime premium of time-and-one-half for hours over 40 in a workweek. The employer’s actions violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The division also found the restaurants’ operator allowed six minor-aged employees to work past permissible hours, a violation of the FLSA’s child labor provisions, which limit the times of day, number of hours, and industries and occupations in which 14- and 15-year-olds may be employed.
The employer also did not maintain accurate records for locations and failed to have a Family Medical Leave Act policy in place.
Back Wages Due:
$196,350
Civil Money Penalties:
$4,027
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that 958,000 food and accommodation services workers left their positions in December 2021. BLS also projects about 41,400 openings for food service managers each year, on average, from 2020 to 2030.
“As restaurants struggle to find the workers they need to remain competitive, they must remember that retaining and recruiting workers is harder for employers who fail to respect workers’ rights and pay them their full wages, and who violate labor laws in general,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Roberto Melendez in Richmond, Virginia. “Employers who fall short of their obligations will be held legally accountable.”Department of Labor finds El Charro failed to pay employees OT
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