U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Florida Restaurant Paying $28,998 in Back Wages, Damages, and Penalties for Wage Violations

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – Lallos441 LLC – the operator of Lallos Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, Florida – has paid $17,443 in back wages and liquidated damages to 25 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found the employer violated minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The employer also paid $11,555 in civil money penalties for the willful nature of the violations.

WHD investigators determined Lallos441 LLC violated minimum wage requirements when it paid a tipped-employee a cash wage below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, and the employee received no tips. Additional minimum wage violations occurred when the employer failed to pay another employee for work performed in their final workweek, and when the employer paid a cashier an hourly rate less than the required federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Overtime violations resulted from the employer’s practice of recording only up to 40 hours of work in their weekly payroll, and paying employees at straight time rates, in cash, off the record, for any additional hours that they worked. This failure to record the number of hours employees worked violated FLSA recordkeeping requirements.

“Employers must pay their employees for all the hours they work. Our efforts ensure that payments not only benefit the workers, but also help to level the playing field for employers who play by the rules,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Tony Pham, in Miami, Florida. “We encourage employers and employees to use the resources we provide to help them understand their legal responsibilities and rights. Wage and Hour Division professionals are available to provide confidential assistance to anyone who has questions.”

The Department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand th eir 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. 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.