Tucson restaurant/garage to return more than $34K in overtime, damages

Employer: Hot Rods Restaurant Inc. and Hot Rods Garage Inc., doing business as Hotrods Old Vail

Site: 10500 East Old Vail Road, Tucson, Arizona

Investigation findings: Hot Rods Restaurant Inc. and Hot Rods Garage Inc., doing business as Hotrods Old Vail, failed to pay 21 salaried cooks and other staff overtime pay, and instead improperly classified them as exempt from overtime and paid them each a flat salary for all hours worked .The Fair Labor Standards Act requires time-and-one-half each workers' regular rate of pay for hours worked beyond 40 hours in a workweek.

Resolution: The employer has agreed to pay all the overtime back wages due and an equal amount in damages. In addition, Hotrods Old Vail has agreed to pay a $3,740 civil money penalty because of the willful nature of the violations found.

Quote: "It is important for restaurant owners and managers to understand that paying an employee a salary does not automatically exempt them from overtime pay," said Eric Murray, the division's district director in Phoenix. "We are pleased that this employer took immediate steps to ensure that non-exempt cooks and staff will now get their unpaid wages and will be paid proper overtime going forward."

Information: For more information about federal wage laws administered by the Wage and Hour Division, call the agency's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information also is available at http://www.dol.gov/whd/.