Sushi restaurant in Ohio to pay employees $100,000 for poor payroll practices
Three Sushi Rock restaurant locations in Cleveland, Columbus and Beachwood, Ohio, were recently investigated by the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division. The evaluations revealed the restaurants were not properly paying servers or sushi chefs. To recover lost wages, the DOL is requesting Sushi Rock pays 54 employees more than $100,000 in back wages.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) guarantees employees receive at least minimum wage ($7.25 per hour) and one-and-a-half times their regular pay rate for employee attendance beyond 40 hours. In the case of Sushi Rock workers, the employer was not keeping accurate records of time attendance for servers or chefs, and did not ensure they received at least minimum wage.
Meeting minimum wage standards can sometimes be problematic for restaurants in which employees often receive varying pay rates when they work as servers, hosts or bussers. Servers, who are often considered tipped employees, can be paid below minimum wage - at least $2.13 per hour - if the gratuity they receive is at least $7.25 an hour on average.
"Businesses that employ tipped employees are required to ensure that those employees - like all others - receive at least the minimum wage," said George Victory, director of the Wage and Hour Division's Columbus District Office. "The Wage and Hour Division is committed to combating systemic violations found in the restaurant industry."
To avoid FLSA violations and the ensuing penalties, it's important for employers to adhere to labor rights and use proper payroll processing equipment.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) guarantees employees receive at least minimum wage ($7.25 per hour) and one-and-a-half times their regular pay rate for employee attendance beyond 40 hours. In the case of Sushi Rock workers, the employer was not keeping accurate records of time attendance for servers or chefs, and did not ensure they received at least minimum wage.
Meeting minimum wage standards can sometimes be problematic for restaurants in which employees often receive varying pay rates when they work as servers, hosts or bussers. Servers, who are often considered tipped employees, can be paid below minimum wage - at least $2.13 per hour - if the gratuity they receive is at least $7.25 an hour on average.
"Businesses that employ tipped employees are required to ensure that those employees - like all others - receive at least the minimum wage," said George Victory, director of the Wage and Hour Division's Columbus District Office. "The Wage and Hour Division is committed to combating systemic violations found in the restaurant industry."
To avoid FLSA violations and the ensuing penalties, it's important for employers to adhere to labor rights and use proper payroll processing equipment.
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