U.S. Department of Labor Recovers Back Wages for 206 Employees After Investigation of Austin, Texas, Restaurants

AUSTIN, TX – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Controllables Management LLC – owner of five Austin, Texas restaurants – has paid $46,153 to 206 employees for violations of the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).   

WHD investigators found Controllables Management LLC missed payroll at five of its restaurants in Austin. By doing so, the employer failed to pay required minimum wage and overtime pay to its employees, in violation of the FLSA. The restaurant also failed to keep accurate records as the law requires.

The investigation included the following restaurants in Austin:

• Sixth & Lamar Inc., doing business as 24 Diner
• Cookbook LLC, doing business as Cookbook Café
• Elm Food Hall LLC, doing business as Fareground Food Hall
• Heartfelt Hospitality LLC, doing business as Irene’s
• Four Round Windows LLC, doing business as Italic

“Employers must pay their employees the wages they have legally earned,” said Wage and Hour District Director Nicole Sellers in Austin, Texas. “Employees count on their earned wages to pay for critical[HR-W1]  necessities, especially during the pandemic. We encourage employers to reach out to us and to use the many tools we provide to help them understand their responsibilities.”

Controllables Management LLC representatives cooperated during the investigation, and paid all the back wages 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 paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave requirements of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, 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.