Michigan Restaurant Pays $37,177 in Back Wages to Six Employees Following U.S. Department of Labor Investigation

ORION TWP., MI – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Carrie Lee’s Orion Restaurant – based in Orion Township, Michigan – has paid $37,177 in overtime back wages to six kitchen staff employees.

Investigators found the employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by paying kitchen employees flat monthly salaries – partially on payroll and partially in cash – regardless of the number of hours that they worked. By doing so, the employer failed to pay overtime when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. Investigators also found Carrie Lee's Orion failed to maintain a record of the number of hours employees worked, or of payments made to employees in cash.

“Employers must accurately pay employees for all the hours that they work, pay overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek to eligible employees and maintain records as required by the law,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Timolin Mitchell in Detroit. “Other employers should use the results of this investigation as an opportunity to review their own pay practices to ensure they comply with the law. We encourage all employers to contact the Wage and Hour Division to fully understand their responsibilities and avoid similar violations.”

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 or confidential calls to local WHD offices.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd.

WHD’s mission 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 provisions 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.

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