U.S. Department of Labor Recovers $1.3 Million in Wages for 3,000 Employees After Restaurant Management Company Misses Payroll

SAN ANTONIO, TX – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) Food Management Partners – based in San Antonio, Texas – has paid $1.3 million to 3,000 employees for violations of the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).   

WHD found the restaurant management company – which does business as Hometown Buffet, Old Country Buffet, Ryan’s, and other brands in the U.S. – missed payroll in March 2020, and by doing so, failed to pay required minimum wage and overtime wages to 3,000 employees at more than 75 locations.

“Employers must pay their employees all the wages they have legally earned,” said Wage and Hour District Director Cynthia Ramos in San Antonio, Texas. “The results of this investigation should send a strong message to all employers that the Wage and Hour Division will continue to protect workers’ rights and level the playing field for employers. We encourage employers to reach out to us and to use the many tools we provide to help them understand their responsibilities.”

WHD worked to identify employees nationwide affected by the missed payroll. Both hourly and salaried personnel at more than 75 locations were affected. Food Management Partners and its representatives cooperated throughout the investigation, and paid all of the workers what they were owed.

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 and confidential calls.

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 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.