US Department of Labor recovers $22K in back wages for 12 Taco Bell workers shorted pay for time worked at Spencer, Iowa, location

Employer:      Haza Bell of Nebraska LLC operating as Taco Bell

                       320 11 St. SW

                       Spencer, Iowa

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators recovered $22,744 – representing $11,372 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages – for 12 workers at the Spencer, Iowa, Taco Bell.

Investigators determined the restaurant violated the Fair Labor Standards Act minimum wage provisions when the site’s general manager deducted time from employees’ time cards before submitting the hours to the corporate office for processing.

Back Wages Recovered: $22,744 in back wages and liquidated damages for 12 employees.

Quote: “This case shows the costly consequence of totaling hours worked incorrectly,” said Wage and Hour District Director Marietta Taylor in Des Moines, Iowa. “Employers must maintain accurate records of hours worked in order to pay employees what the law requires. When they fail to do so, they often deny hard-working employees all of the wages that they are due.”

Background: Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division and how to file an online complaint. For confidential compliance assistance, employees and employers can call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from.

Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices – also available in Spanish –to ensure hours and pay are accurate.