U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Austin Restaurant Paying $98,520 in Owed Wages, Damages to Employees

AUSTIN, TX – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Polvos I LLC – doing business as Polvo’s Mexican Restaurant in Austin, Texas – has paid $98,520 in back wages and liquidated damages to 19 employees to resolve overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators found that Polvo’s Mexican Restaurant paid kitchen employees flat weekly salaries without regard to the number of hours that they worked. This practice resulted in violations when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek, but the employer failed to pay them overtime. WHD also cited the employer for recordkeeping violations of the FLSA, and for failing to provide employees with information about the Family and Medical Leave Act.

“Employers must pay their employees all the wages they have legally earned,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Nicole Sellers in Austin, Texas. “The results of this investigation offer an opportunity for other employers to review their pay practices to make sure they comply with the law. The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to ensuring that employers have the information and tools they need to avoid costly violations like those found in this investigation.”

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.

Employers that 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 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd including a search tool for workers who may be owed back wages collected by WHD.

The mission of WHD 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.