US Labor Department sues Garland, Texas, bakery; seeks more than $150K in owed wages, liquidated damages for workers

Date of Action: Nov. 17, 2016

Type of Action: Lawsuit

Name of Defendants:Tango Bakery Inc., doing business as Tango Bakery
Adrian Gordillo-Ross
Sergio Mendoza

Allegation: The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against Tango Bakery Inc. – doing business as Tango Bakery – and its two owners, Adrian Gordillo-Ross and Sergio Mendoza, after an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that the employers failed to pay 20 current and former employees $75,218 in overtime pay in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Investigators from the division’s Dallas District Office found the Garland, Texas-based bakery failed to pay its bakers, baking helpers and front sales workers properly because they paid straight time for all hours worked and failed to pay overtime at time and one-half for hours worked over 40 in a work week. The company also failed to pay some employees for all of the hours they worked.  Additionally, on the occasion that the employer did pay overtime, they failed to include bonuses employees received for working late in the work day in the overtime rate payment made on those days. Investigators also determined the company failed to keep accurate time and pay records and falsified others, violating the FLSA’s recordkeeping requirements.

Quote: “Tango Bakery attempted to manipulate time and pay records to avoid paying employees what they had rightfully earned,” said Betty Campbell, regional administrator for the Wage and Hour Division in the Southwest. “Employees must be paid for every hour they work and employers must also maintain complete and accurate records. The division remains committed to ensuring that if you work, you get paid. As this lawsuit demonstrates, we will continue to use every tool available to us to make sure that happens.”

Resolution: The department seeks $150,437 in back wages and liquidated damages for workers, and an injunction against future violations of the FLSA by the employers. In addition, the department has filed an action with the Department of Labor’s Office of Administrative Law Judges seeking $7,700 in civil money penalties assessed against the employer and its two owners for willful violations of the Act.

Additional Information: Tango Bakery specializes in cakes and provides catering services. Tango Bakery also hosts various events, such as weddings and Quinceañeras, in a ballroom attached to the bakery.

Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division

Docket Number: 3:16-cv-03230-M

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