Peytons Place restaurant in Duncan, Okla., agrees to pay servers nearly $85,000 in back wages following US Department of Labor investigation

Servers worked only for tips

DUNCAN, Okla. — Peyton's Place LLC in Duncan has agreed to pay $84,864 in back wages to 31 current and former servers following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division which found violations of the minimum wage and record-keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

"Restaurant workers are among the most vulnerable in the work force. These workers are entitled to receive the wages they have rightfully earned," said Cynthia Watson, regional administrator for the Wage and Hour Division in the Southwest. "When an employer violates the FLSA, the Labor Department will not hesitate to take appropriate action to ensure workers receive the wages they have earned, and that employers who play by the rules do not operate at a competitive disadvantage to those who do not."

An investigation by the division's Oklahoma City District Office found that the employer failed to pay servers the required minimum wage of $2.13 per hour for tipped employees, and instead required them to work only for tips. The company also failed to maintain records of the numbers of hours worked by employees. Additionally, the employer failed to maintain records of dates of birth for workers under 18 years of age, as required by the FLSA.

Peyton's Place has agreed to comply fully with the FLSA in the future and to pay the back wages found due in full.

The FLSA requires that covered, nonexempt employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates of pay for hours worked beyond 40 per week. In accordance with the FLSA, an employer of a tipped employee is required to pay no less than $2.13 per hour in direct wages, provided that amount plus the tips received equals at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. If an employee's tips combined with the employer's direct wages do not equal the minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference. Employers also are required to provide employees notice of the FLSA tip credit provisions, to maintain accurate time and payroll records and to comply with the hours, hazardous orders and other restrictions applying to workers under age 18.

Additionally, deductions from an employee's pay for customer walkouts, breakage or cash register shortages are illegal if they reduce the employee's wages below the minimum wage.

For more information about the FLSA and other federal wage laws, call the Wage and Hour Division's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or the division's Oklahoma City office at 405-231-4158. Information is also available at http://www.dol.gov/whd/.

• Read this news release en Español.