News Brief
US Department of Labor recovers $105K in unpaid wages, damages after investigation finds Lacey restaurants violated overtime, child labor laws
Employer: Macarios Inc., Los Primos Inc., Dos Oros Inc., operating as Mayan Mexican Restaurant
4520 Pacific Ave. SE
Lacey, WA 98503
Investigation findings: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found the restaurant employer failed to pay workers their full earnings in violation of overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Investigators determined that Jose Sanchez, owner of three Mayan Mexican Restaurants operating under different corporate names in Lacey, Washington, denied 20 workers their overtime pay for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. Instead, the employer paid overtime hours at regular rates and failed to combine all hours worked at different locations for purposes of overtime pay calculation. The division also found a minor-aged employee had worked more hours than permitted on school days and beyond the allowable times, in violation of FLSA’s child labor regulations.
Back Wages Recovered: $52,923 in unpaid overtime wages for 20 employees
$52,923 in damages for 20 employees
$6,440 in civil money penalties
Quote: “Restaurant employees work hard to make ends meet for themselves and their families. This restaurant willfully violated federal overtime and child labor regulations by underpaying employees and having a minor work beyond the allowable hours,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Thomas Silva in Seattle. “We urge employers in this industry to review their employment practices and avoid costly consequences for violating the law.”
Context: The YouthRules! initiative promotes positive and safe work experiences for teens by providing information about protections for young workers to youth, parents, employers and educators. Through this initiative, the U.S. Department of Labor and its partners promote developmental work experiences that help prepare young workers to enter the workforce. The Wage and Hour Division has also published Seven Child Labor Best Practices for Employers to help employers comply with the law.
The FLSA requires that most employees in the U.S. be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay at not less than time and one-half the regular rate of pay for all hours over 40 in a workweek. Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division and workers’ rights, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.
Employers and workers can call division staff confidentially with questions, regardless of where they are from, and the department can speak with callers confidentially in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Download the agency’s new, free Timesheet App for android devices, available in English and Spanish, to help track work hours and pay.
