Florida Restaurant Pays $35,942 in Back Wages and Damages After U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Finds Overtime Violations

NAPLES, FL – Aqua Seafood & Steak – a restaurant based in Naples, Florida – has paid $35,942 in back wages and liquidated damages to 15 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found the employer violated overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators determined the restaurant paid 15 employees at straight-time rates regardless of the number of hours they worked, failing to pay overtime when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. Additionally, the restaurant paid some employees off the books and failed to record hours for another employee, resulting in recordkeeping violations.

"The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division is committed to ensuring that employees receive the wages they have earned for all the hours they have worked," said Wage and Hour Division District Director James Schmidt, in Tampa. "We are also determined to ensure that employers who fail to comply with the law do not gain an unfair competitive advantage over those who do."

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd.