South Florida Restaurant to Pay $88,074 in Wages to 8 Employees After U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Uncovers Violations

COOPER CITY, FL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), South China Restaurant – based in Cooper City, Florida – will pay $88,074 in wages to eight employees for violating minimum wage, overtime, and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD found South China Restaurant paid employees - including servers, bussers, and cooks - weekly or monthly salaries without regard to the number of hours that they actually worked. This practice resulted in minimum wage violations when those salaries failed to cover the number of hours employees had worked at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Overtime violations resulted when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek and the employer failed to pay them overtime in addition to their salaries. WHD also found South China Restaurant failed to record the number of hours worked by cooks and did not post the required FLSA poster to notify employees of their rights under the law, resulting in recordkeeping violations.

“Employers are required to pay their employees the wages they have legally earned for all the hours that they work,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Tony Pham, in Miami, Florida. “Our work continues to ensure that employees are paid as the law requires, and that employers compete on a level playing field. We encourage all employers to review their employment obligations and to contact the Wage and Hour Division for compliance assistance.”

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 WHD, 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.
WHD’s mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the Nation's workforce. WHD enforces Federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to Federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.
The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.