US Department of Labor recovers $118K in tips, overtime wages, damages from Honolulu restaurant operator that shortchanged employees again

Employer:      Hale Vietnam Inc.

                        1140 12th Ave.

Honolulu, HI 96816                                                                                                     

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found the owners of the Vietnamese-cuisine restaurant kept a portion of employees’ tips and failed to pay overtime wages, both violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The employer paid overtime hours in cash without premium pay and illegally pocketed some of the tips employees earned. The employer also altered time records to conceal the illegal practice. 

This is the second time the division has found violations of federal labor laws by Hale Vietnam. In 2015, the division recovered $10,786 in overtime back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages for 17 employees to resolve similar infractions by the employer. 

Back Wages Recovered:       $59,468 in overtime back wages and tips for 14 employees

                                                $59,468 in liquidated damages for 14 employees

Quote: “Tips earned by workers are their property and no one else’s. Federal law forbids employers from pocketing any portion of workers’ tips and from withholding earned overtime pay,” explained Wage and Hour District Director Terence Trotter in Honolulu. “We urge restaurant employers and employees to contact us to discuss any questions about the Fair Labor Standards Act’s wage and tip requirements.”

Additional information: Workers can use the division’s Workers Owed Wages search tool to check to see if they are owed back wages collected by the division. Employers and workers can contact the Wage and Hour Division at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE. 

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including the agency’s restaurants compliance assistance toolkit and an overview about the FLSA protections for restaurant workers. Workers and employers alike can help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and IOS Timesheet App for free in English or Spanish.