Two New Hampshire restaurants have been ordered to pay more than $890,000 in back wages and damages after an investigation into allegations of numerous violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
A U.S Department of Labor investigation found that La Carreta-Derry Inc. in Derry and La Carreta-Londonderry LLC in Londonderry, which both did business as La Carreta Mexican Restaurant, and Heriberto Leon violated minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping requirements, including paying some servers only tips, paying no overtime to employees who received only tips, paying straight time wages to employees who worked overtime, and failed to keep track of hours for some employees.
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The restaurants will have to pay $445,085 in back wages and another $445,085 in damages to 63 employees based on the findings of the investigation. The judgment also requires them to maintain wae, record-keeping and antiretaliation requirments in keeping with federal labor laws, and they will have to work with investigators to provide any necessary records and documents.
“Paying restaurant workers straight-time for their overtime hours and requiring servers to work for tips only with no cash wages is quite simply wage theft,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Steven McKinney in Manchester, New Hampshire. “While we often find such violations in the restaurant industry, these violations can easily be prevented if employers know and understand the Fair Labor Standards Act’s requirements. We encourage them to reach out to us with questions they may have about their responsibilities under the law.”
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The Department of Labor case was first filed in December 2020.
Workers who have concerns about their own pay or other employment concerns can contact the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division confidentially at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).
