US Department of Labor recovers $77K in wages, damages for restaurant workers denied overtime at nine Arkansas and Missouri locations

Employer name:                    3Pointe Restaurant Group Holdings LLC

Investigation sites:               4507 W Walnut St., Rogers, AR 72756

                                                        1049 N Salem Road, Fayetteville, AR 72704

                                                        6800 W Sunset Ave., Springdale, AR 72762

                                                        3511 Highway 412 East, Siloam Springs, AR 72761

                                                        1185 Branson Hills Parkway, Branson, MO 65616

                                                        1915 W Marler Lane, Ozark, MO 65721

                                                        3757 S. Glenstone Ave., Springfield, MO 65804

                                                        2305 N Glenstone Ave., Springfield, MO 65803

                                                        615 W El Camino Alto St., Springfield, MO 65810

Findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found 3Pointe Restaurant Group Holdings LLC – doing business as Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers – failed to pay non-exempt restaurant workers for all hours worked. The employer provided workers with a 15-minute break for every 6 hours of work and required employees to clock out for the breaks but did not pay for the break time. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, rest periods of short duration, running from 5 minutes to about 20 minutes, are common in industry and must be counted as hours worked.

Back wages recovered:         $38,495 in owed overtime and $38,495 in liquidated damages to 213 workers

Quote: “Food service workers are some of the nation’s lowest paid workers. They depend upon every dollar earned to make ends meet and the law protects their rights to be paid for all the hours worked,” said Wage and Hour District Director Hanz Grünauer in Little Rock, Arkansas. “As businesses struggle to find the people they need to be successful, those who fail in their legal obligations to their workers may find it more difficult to retain and recruit workers in the future.”