Pizza Restaurants Amend Payroll Practices; Pay $584K in Back Wages, Damages to 73 Employees in U.S. Department of Labor Agreement

BOSTON – An enterprise operating six limited-service restaurants with pizza delivery in Worcester, Shrewsbury, and Auburn has paid $292,016 in back wages and an equal amount in damages for 73 employees. It has also amended its payroll practices to comply with federal Fair Labor Standards Act requirements in an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor.

Investigators in the Department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Tavco Chandler Street Inc. and five associated companies – all doing business as Golden Pizza – failed to comply with the FLSA’s overtime and recordkeeping requirements between July 1, 2013 and July 31, 2016. The company failed to record all the hours employees had worked, and failed to pay them overtime at time-and-one-half when they worked more than 40 hours in a week. The Division found the recent violations to be willful, as the company was previously investigated twice in 2011.

“This agreement recovers back wages for the workers who earned them. Golden Pizza’s prompt payment and agreement to a consent judgment ensures that its employees will receive all the wages they are due now, and in the future,” said Carlos Matos, director of the Division’s Boston District Office. “Unfortunately, overtime and recordkeeping violations are not uncommon. Employers are obligated to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act, and are encouraged to contact us with any questions they may have.”

The Division has received the back wages and is in the process of distributing them to the employees. In the consent judgment, Golden Pizza neither admits nor denies the findings of the Division’s investigation.

The Department’s complaint was filed on May 12, 2017. The consent judgment was signed by Chief Magistrate David H. Hennessy of the U.S. District Court for the district of Massachusetts on June 20, 2017. Acosta v. Tavco Auburn St., Inc. et al, CA No. 4:17-CV-40070.

The FLSA requires that employees receive one-and-one-half times their regular rates of pay when they work more than 40 hours in a workweek and that employers maintain adequate and accurate records of employees’ wages and work hours.

The Division is committed to providing employers with the tools they need to understand and comply with the variety of labor laws the Division enforces in a variety of languages. It offers useful resources ranging from an interactive E-laws advisor to a complete library of free, downloadable workplace posters. In addition, the Division’s Community Outreach and Resource Planning Specialists conduct ongoing outreach activities to educate stakeholders, including employers, employees, business and labor groups and professional associations, among others, with accessible, easy-to-understand information about their rights and responsibilities.

For more information about the FLSA, contact the Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or its Boston District Office at 617-624-6700. Information also is available at http://www.dol.gov/whd.