Tampa, Fla., restaurant denies workers minimum wage and overtime pay

Employer name: Wei's Hibachi Buffet LLC, doing business as Hibachi Buffet

Investigation site: 13151 N. Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa, Florida 33618

Investigation findings: Investigators from the department's Wage and Hour Division Tampa District Office found that Hibachi Buffet violated the overtime, minimum wage and record keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Specifically, the employer required servers to work for tips, room and board only and did not pay kitchen employees overtime pay for hours worked beyond 40 in a work week. Additionally, the employer failed to maintain records for all hours worked.

Resolution: Hibachi Buffet has agreed to future compliance with the FLSA and to pay 12 employees $48,731 in back wages plus an equal amount in liquidated damages for a total $97,462.

Quote: "Underpaying and improperly paying workers cheats them out of their hard-earned income and puts those responsible employers, who play by the rules, at a competitive disadvantage. We strongly encourage workers who may be in similar situations, where their employer is not paying overtime after 40 hours of work in a workweek or paying the correct minimum wage pay, to contact us with the knowledge that the information they share is kept confidential under the maximum extent of the law," said James Schmidt, the Wage and Hour Division's district director in Tampa.