Oklahoma Barbecue Restaurants Operator Pays $55,372 in Back Wages To Employees After U.S. Department of Labor Investigation

TULSA, OK – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the operator of Burn Co. Inc. – also known as Burn Co. Barbecue restaurants – has paid $55,372 in back wages to 22 employees to resolve violations of the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) found at its Jenks and Tulsa, Oklahoma, locations.

WHD found that Burn Co. Inc. paid pitmasters, pit hands, cooks and dishwashers a flat amount of money per day regardless of the number of hours the employees worked. This practice resulted in violations when employees worked more than 40 hours in a week, but the employer failed to pay them overtime in addition to their day rates. The employer also violated FLSA recordkeeping requirements when it failed to keep accurate records of the numbers of hours employees worked.

“Employees must be paid all the wages they have legally earned,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Michael Speer, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. “We encourage employers and workers to contact our office to learn more about their rights and responsibilities under federal wage laws.”  

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.