U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Finds Pennsylvania Restaurant Violated Federal Wage Laws

OAKDALE, PA – Burke Inc. – doing business as Pepperoncini's Pub in Oakdale, Pennsylvania – has paid $12,034 in back wages, and an equal amount in liquidated damages to four employees after a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found the employer violated the overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD found that from May 2017 to May 2019, Pepperoncini's Pub paid one kitchen manager and three assistant kitchen managers, straight-time hourly rates regardless of the number of hours that they worked, failing to pay them overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. The FLSA requires hourly employees to receive time-and-one-half their regular rates of pay for overtime hours. The employer also violated FLSA recordkeeping requirements by failing to keep required records of employee tips.

"Other employers should use this investigation as an opportunity to review their own pay practices to ensure they comply with the law," said Wage and Hour Division District Director John DuMont, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "The U.S. Department of Labor will continue its work to level the playing field so that employers that follow the rules don't find themselves at an economic disadvantage to those who do not. We encourage all employers to reach out to us for guidance and to use the wide variety of tools we provide to help them comply with the law and avoid violations like those found in this case."

"We see too many cases, like this one, involving restaurants that do not pay their back of the house employees proper overtime and that do not follow the tip credit rules," said Philadelphia Regional Counsel Adam Welsh. "It is important for all employers in the restaurant industry, large and small, to take steps to ensure their employees receive the wages they are entitled to under the law."

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. 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.