U.S. Department of Labor Recovers $48,248 in Wages and Damages for Employees After North Carolina Restaurant Violates Overtime Laws

RALEIGH, NC – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Demetrio Inc. – operating as El Pollo Rico Restaurant in Raleigh, North Carolina – has paid $48,248 in back wages and liquidated damages to 32 employees for violating the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators found the restaurant paid hourly employees straight time rates without regard to the total number of hours that they worked. This practice resulted in overtime violations when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek yet were not paid overtime. The FLSA requires employers to pay workers one-and-one-half times their regular rates of pay for overtime hours. 

Demetrio Inc. also violated FLSA recordkeeping requirements when it failed to maintain accurate records that included the total number of hours employees had worked, full names and home addresses of all employees, the day and time each employee’s workweek began, hours worked daily and weekly, and regular hourly rates of pay for any week in which overtime compensation was due.

“Employers do not have the right to ignore the requirements of federal law,” said Wage and Hour District Director Richard Blaylock, in Raleigh, North Carolina. “Companies must meet their obligation to pay their employees the wages they have legally earned. The U.S. Department of Labor will continue to work to level the playing field so that employers who follow the rules don’t find themselves at an economic disadvantage to those who do not.”

The Department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos, confidential calls, or in-person visits to local WHD offices.

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. Employers can find additional compliance assistance information on the Wage and Hour Division website.