Gourmet Garden restaurant of Ann Arbor owes workers more than $116K

Employer name: SSF Inc., doing business as Gourmet Garden

Investigation site: 2255 W. Stadium Blvd. Ann Arbor, Michigan 48103

Investigation findings: The Wage and Hour Division of the U. S. Department of Labor conducted an investigation and found the employer in violation of the minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The employer failed to pay the federal minimum wage to several cooks whose monthly salaries, when divided by the number of hours they worked, was frequently less than the federally required $7.25 per hour. They also failed to pay minimum wage to tipped wait staff by requiring them to participate in an illegal tip pool, or tip sharing arrangement. The firm had employees working as many as 60 hours per week and failed to pay legally mandated overtime pay for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek, and failed to keep legally required time and payroll records.

The investigation of Gourmet Garden is part of a multiyear education and enforcement initiative directed at the hospitality industry in college towns and resort areas in the Midwest, conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.

Resolution: To resolve this investigation, Gourmet Garden will pay more than $116,000 in back wages to 18 employees. The firm also signed an enhanced compliance agreement which requires they install a new timekeeping system; change their payroll system from monthly or semi-monthly to bi-weekly; train workers on their rights under the FLSA; and display posters and facts sheets and provide information in a language workers understand.

Quote: "Failure to pay legally required minimum wage and overtime poses a serious problem to workers who, in many cases, are already struggling to get by, and also undercuts those employers that choose to obey the law and pay their workers properly," said Timolin Mitchell, director of the division's Detroit District Office. "The hospitality industry needs to do more to ensure compliance with Wage and Hour rules. In addition to our ongoing enforcement activities, we are continuing our outreach to businesses, community organizations and other stakeholders so that all employers are competing on a level playing field and workers are made aware of their rights."

For more information: Accessible and searchable information on enforcement activities by the department is available at http://ogesdw.dol.gov/homePage.php. For more information about the FLSA and other federal labor laws, call the division's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or its Detroit Office at 313-309-4500. Information also is available at http://www.dol.gov/whd/.