San Jose Restaurante Mexicano agrees to pay $170,000 in back wages
San Jose Restaurante Mexicano in Columbia, South Carolina recently agreed to pay 11 workers $170,666 in back wages for minimum wage and overtime violations. The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division recently investigated the employer and found its payroll practices were in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
"The Wage and Hour Division is committed to protecting low-wage employees in the restaurant industry, where we have found widespread FLSA violations resulting from practices such as having employees work for tips only, not recording all hours worked and failing to pay overtime compensation," said Director of the Division's Columbia office, Michelle Garvey.
Under the FLSA, employees who are primarily paid in tips and receive more than $30 per week in gratuity are exempt from minimum wage laws if their hourly earnings are equivalent to, or greater than the amount required by the DOL. However, they are still guaranteed overtime wages (time-and-a-half the regular pay rate) for any hours worked beyond 40 in a single week.
The restaurant industry is vulnerable to labor rights violations because employees often perform more than one job function that are subject to varying remuneration. As a result, more than 1,300 restaurant employees in the state have collected $1.7 million in back wages since 2010. To avoid violations, employers in the industry can invest in a payroll processing system that will make it easier to stay in compliance with labor laws.
"The Wage and Hour Division is committed to protecting low-wage employees in the restaurant industry, where we have found widespread FLSA violations resulting from practices such as having employees work for tips only, not recording all hours worked and failing to pay overtime compensation," said Director of the Division's Columbia office, Michelle Garvey.
Under the FLSA, employees who are primarily paid in tips and receive more than $30 per week in gratuity are exempt from minimum wage laws if their hourly earnings are equivalent to, or greater than the amount required by the DOL. However, they are still guaranteed overtime wages (time-and-a-half the regular pay rate) for any hours worked beyond 40 in a single week.
The restaurant industry is vulnerable to labor rights violations because employees often perform more than one job function that are subject to varying remuneration. As a result, more than 1,300 restaurant employees in the state have collected $1.7 million in back wages since 2010. To avoid violations, employers in the industry can invest in a payroll processing system that will make it easier to stay in compliance with labor laws.
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