San Antonio, Texas-Area Restaurants Pay $71,899 in Back Wages To Employees After U.S. Department of Labor Investigation

SAN ANTONIO, TX – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), an enterprise operating three San Antonio, Texas, area restaurants has paid $71,899 in back wages to 327 employees to resolve violations of the tip-pooling requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The WHD investigation found that Boerne Longhorn Cafe LLC, doing business as Longhorn Café Boerne; Big Juicy Inc., doing business as Longhorn Café Blanco; and Longhorn Cafe Series LLC, doing business as Longhorn Café Leasing violated the tipped worker requirements of the FLSA by allowing tips to be improperly diverted to managers and administrative staff. The law prohibits those employees from participating in a tip-pooling arrangement.

“Employees must be paid all the wages they have legally earned including tips acquired through an employer’s tip-pool practice,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Cynthia Ramos, in San Antonio, Texas. “The Wage and Hour Division encourages other employers in this industry to review their own pay practices to ensure they comply with the law, and to reach out to us with any questions they may have about their responsibilities. Workers, too, can call us confidentially with any questions or concerns about their employment.”   

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.