News Brief
US Department of Labor recovers $38K in back wages for 17 workers, court finds Dearborn restaurant owner in contempt of 2018 order
Employers: MKK Holding Inc., operating as the Blue Fish Asian Cuisine, Dearborn, Michigan
Sung Hee Kim
Min Kyu Kim
Yong Kim
Action: U.S. Department of Labor obtains consent judgment, files complaint
Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
Court action: The court entered a consent judgment on March 20, 2024, requiring MKK Holding Inc — operating as the Blue Fish Asian Cuisine restaurant — its owner Sung Hee Kim, and managers Min Kyu Kim and Yong Kim to pay $38,602, representing $19,301 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages, to 17 employees. The consent judgment also finds Sung Hee Kim in contempt of a 2018 court judgment to abide by the Fair Labor Standards Act and requires her to demonstrate compliance with the FLSA within 30 days.
The consent judgment resolves a complaint the department filed with the district court after an investigation by the Wage and Hour Division found the employers violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by paying kitchen staff and some servers a flat day-rate and did not pay overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek. They paid other servers hourly rates and paid them overtime at only one and a-half times the Michigan subminimum hourly wage for tipped workers, not their regular rates as the FLSA requires. Investigators also allege the employer failed to keep complete time records and maintained three separate sets of pay records, which appeared to be manipulated to suggest FLSA compliance.
The department also assessed civil money penalties of $17,153 that MKK Holding Inc. has paid for willful and repeat FLSA violations.
This is not the first time Sung Hee Kim has faced legal action for similar federal wage violations. In 2018, the same district court issued a summary judgment decision against Kim finding she had violated numerous FSLA provisions at another restaurant she owned, Seoul Garden in Ann Arbor. At that time, the court permanently forbid Kim from violating the FLSA.
Quote: “Employers like Sung Hee Kim who violate the Fair Labor Standards Act repeatedly show a blatant disregard for their employees and the law by not paying workers their rightfully earned wages,” said Wage and Hour District Director Timolin Mitchell in Detroit. “Wage violations hurt workers and their families, and cause harm to local economies because workers have less money to spend. Employers are legally responsible for knowing and complying with federal wage laws.”
“The U.S. Department of Labor will take all necessary legal action to protect workers’ rights to their earned wages and hold employers accountable when they fail to comply with the law,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Christine Heri in Chicago.
Background: Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division and how to file an online complaint. For confidential compliance assistance, employees and employers can call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from.
Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices – also available in Spanish –to ensure hours and pay are accurate.
United States Department of Labor v. MKK Holding Inc., et. al
