U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Connecticut Restaurants Paying $180,007 in Back Wages and Damages to 49 Employees

HARTFORD, CT – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation, three restaurants in Fairfield County, Connecticut, have paid $180,007 in back wages and liquidated damages to 49 employees to resolve violations of the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Frank Marchetti and Michael Marchetti manage all three restaurants – Old Greenwich Restaurant Corp. d/b/a Osteria Applausi; Stamp Restaurant Corporation d/b/a Columbus Park Trattoria; and T & S Restaurant Corp. d/b/a Tarantino Restaurant.

WHD investigators found the restaurants:

• Failed to combine total weekly work hours for individual employees who worked at multiple locations when determining whether overtime was due;
• Incorrectly calculated overtime pay for front of the house tipped wait staff, basing their overtime rates only on the workers' direct cash wages, instead of the employees' regular rates of pay;
• Failed to pay the required overtime premium to back of the house kitchen employees, instead paying them flat salaries without regard to the number of hours they actually worked; and
• Failed to keep complete and accurate time and payroll records that represented a true accounting of employees' work hours.

"Employers must pay employees correctly for all the hours that they work. Failure to do so deprives employees of the wages they've earned and places law-abiding employers at a competitive disadvantage," said Wage and Hour Division District Director David Gerrain, in Hartford, Connecticut. "These types of violations can be avoided. We encourage employers to reach out to us for information and assistance."

The Department provides numerous resources and tools to help employers understand their responsibilities and comply with federal law, such as online videos, confidential calls, or in-person visits to local WHD offices. Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program.

For more information about the FLSA  and other laws enforced by the Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool for workers who may be owed back wages collected by WHD.

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