Following a recent investigation by the Department of Labor's (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Brasa Brazilian Steakhouse in Raleigh, North Carolina, has agreed to pay 18 employees at total of $68,482 in back wages for allegedly violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). WHD investigators claim that upon their visit, they discovered restaurant employees were not receiving all of the wages they were owed for their time and attendance.

Specifically, the claims state the company did not paying tipped employees the proper amount of overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a week and kitchen staff members were paid "straight time" - their standard hourly wage - instead of the premium rates they earned for their extra employee attendance.

The FLSA establishes that when non-exempt workers are on the job for more than 40 hours, they must receive at least time-and-a-half their standards earnings. For tipped employees, this includes both the wages they earn from gratuity and their hourly pay.

Some restaurants that use handwritten timesheets might find it difficult to calculate the various pay rates for their employees, since some are compensated primarily through tips and others by hourly wages. Upgrading to a payroll processing system that receives data from a timeclock can help them bring their practices into compliance and avoid issues with the DOL. 

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