Restaurant operator pays $176K in overtime back wages to 97 workers at 7 Virginia, Maryland locations

Employer:     

Kevsal Inc., operating as Jose Tequilas Mexican Grill & Bar, 615 Thimble Shoals, Newport News

Jose Tequilas Inc., operating as Jose Tequilas Mexican Grill & Bar, 2052 Lynnhaven Parkway, Virginia Beach

Tapatio Inc., operating as Jose Tequilas Mexican Grill & Bar, 2101 McComas Way, Virginia Beach

Alans LLC, operating as Senor Fox Mexican Restaurant,1080 Nimmo Parkway, Virginia Beach

Tequilas LLC, operating as Jose Tequilas Mexican Grill and Bar, 205 Bypass Road, Williamsburg

Tapatios Inc., operating as Jose Tequilas Mexican Grill and Bar, 1108 Little Creek Road, Norfolk

Tequilas MD LLC, operating as Jose Tequilas Mexican Grill and Bar, 10500 Owings Mills Blvd., Owings Mills, Maryland

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, Richmond District Office, found the operator of the seven restaurants failed to pay 97 employees the proper overtime premium of time-and-one-half for hours worked over 40 in a workweek, and did not maintain required records, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.  

Back Wages Due:      $176,276.71   

Background: The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that 958,000 food and accommodation services workers left their positions in December 2021. BLS also projects about 41,400 openings for food service managers each year, on average, from 2020 to 2030.

Quote: “Food service employees are entitled to the essential protections provided by the Fair Labor Standards Act,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Roberto Melendez in Richmond, Virginia. “As restaurants struggle to find and keep the workers they need to remain competitive, they must remember that retaining and recruiting workers is harder for employers who fail to respect workers’ rights and violate labor laws.”