DALLAS – Bartenders at two Dallas-area restaurants who depend on good tips in return for great service will recoup $197,902 in earnings after federal investigators found the establishments’ owner and operator forced them to share tips with non-tipped employees illegally.

The recovery follows an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division that discovered The Peak Inn LLC and Adair’s Saloon Inc. operated an illegal tip pool when the employers shared tips earned by 20 bartenders with the restaurants’ cooks. 

The division found the employer violated federal minimum wage and overtime provisions by not paying cooks at least the federally required $7.25 per hour for all hours worked and not paying them time-and-one-half their regular rate of pay for hours over 40 per workweek. Investigators also determined the employer did not combine an employee’s work hours when they worked as a bartender and a cook and when an employee worked at both restaurants. In addition, The Peak Inn and Adair’s Saloon failed to keep records required by law.

 “Like many workers, bartenders spend long days and nights on their feet in the hope that great customer service earns them good tips,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Jesus A. Valdez in Dallas. “The Peak Inn and Adair’s Saloon illegally withheld tips that are these bartenders’ property and shared them with non-tipped employees. Our investigation led to a significant recovery of hard-earned wages for 20 workers.”

The investigations are part of an ongoing food service industry initiative to identify wage violators, recover back wages and, when appropriate, assess damages and civil money penalties.

In fiscal year 2023, the Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $29.6 million in back wages for nearly 26,000 food service workers and assessed food service employers $6.1 million in penalties.

Owned by Joe Morales, the Peak Inn and Adair’s Saloon were both named among Dallas’ top 100 bars in 2023. 

The Wage and Hour Division enforces laws governing pay practices and other labor standards, including the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. The division protects workers regardless of immigration status and can communicate with workers and employers confidentially in more than 200 languages at its toll-free helpline, 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).

Download the agency’s new Timesheet App, which is available in English and Spanish for Android and Apple devices, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.   

Lea en Español       

ATLANTA – The U.S. Department of Labor is trying to connect 28 former employees of a Cordele home healthcare company with their share of $65,944 in back wages and liquidated damages recovered after an investigation found the employer denied them overtime wages they earned.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division determined Adventist Homecare and Medical Services LLC paid a total of 96 employees straight-time rates for all hours worked, including hours over 40 in a workweek when the Fair Labor Standards Act required overtime wages be paid. After its investigation, the division recovered a total of $470,261 in back wages and liquidated damages for employees owed overtime by Adventist Homecare between Oct. 1, 2021, and Sept. 30, 2023.  

“Paying workers what they are legally owed is crucial in the healthcare field, particularly for home care workers,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Steven Salazar in Atlanta. “Federal wage laws are uncompromising and protect workers’ rights to be paid fully for their work so that they can care for themselves and the people who depend on them.” 

To date, the division has compensated more than half of the workers owed back wages and damages and continues to confirm the identities of 28 former Adventist Homecare employees who have not yet responded to notification letters. In some cases, employees are entitled to recover thousands in monies they’re owed. 

When the division recovers wages from an employer cited for violations, workers have three years to reclaim back wages and damages before funds must be sent to the U.S. Treasury. As such, Adventist Homecare workers must claim their shares of back wages and damages by April 2027.

“We urge people employed by Adventist Homecare and Medical Services LLC between Oct. 1, 2021, and Sept. 30, 2023, to contact us so that we can get them the back wages and damages that they may be owed for overtime their former employer should have paid them,” Salazar added. “Getting workers the wages that they are legally owed is a top priority for our agency. Finding these 28 employees is an urgent concern.”

The division encourages former Adventist Homecare workers who think they are owed back wages to use the agency’s Workers Owed Wages online tool, or to contact the Wage and Hour Division in Atlanta. 

Adventist Homecare and Medical Services LLC is a home care agency providing personal care support, companionship, nursing and respite services for elderly individuals.

Workers and employers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions, and the division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the agency, contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). The division also offers online resources for employers, such as a fact sheet on Fair Labor Standards Act overtime requirements.

Workers and employers can help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android or iPhone Timesheet App for free in English and Spanish. 

LUBBOCK, TX – Many people who work in the restaurant industry depend on tips in exchange for good service which, like quality food at fair prices, can bring customers back and allow their employer to succeed. Despite the need for good service, the U.S. Department of Labor too often finds restaurant employers, including three businesses in Lamesa and Lubbock, withholding tips that legally belong to the people who earned them.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division recovered a total of $61,646 for 140 workers and assessed the operators of Ohana’s Japanese Steak Restaurant in Lamesa, and at The Catch and Johnny Fab’s Cadillac Grill in Lubbock a total of $7,200 in penalties.

“Tips are the property of the people whose hard work earned them,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Evelyn Ortiz in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “The employers in these cases illegally withheld workers’ tips and either kept them, shared them with non-tipped employees or used them to pay business expenses. Employers who shortchange tipped workers face costly consequences, which can include penalties in addition to back wages owed.”

Specifically, investigators found the owner of Tang Ohanas LLC, operator of Ohana’s Japanese Steak Restaurant illegally included themselves in the workers’ tip pool and kept most of the tips. The division recovered $43,641 for eight employees and assessed the employer $768 in civil money penalties. 

At The Catch, operated by Catch Lubbock South LLC, the division determined the employer illegally allowed salaried managers to participate in the restaurant’s tip pool, recovering $13,752 owed to 107 employees and assessing the owners with $3,036 in penalties.

Investigators found Tres Patos Management LLC, operator of Johnny Fab’s Cadillac Grill, kept tips illegally to compensate for the company’s bar register shortages, which caused the rate of pay for bartenders to fall below the required minimum wage. The division recovered $2,126 for 25 employees and assessed the employer $3,425 in penalties.

These investigations are part of an ongoing food service industry initiative to identify wage violators, recover back wages and, when appropriate, assess damages and civil money penalties.

In fiscal year 2023, the Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $29.6 million in back wages for nearly 26,000 food service workers and assessed $6.1 million in penalties.

The Wage and Hour Division enforces laws governing pay practices and other labor standards, including the Fair Labor Standards Act, and determines if employers have misclassified employees as independent contractors and denied them critical benefits and worker protections. 

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. The division protects workers regardless of immigration status and can communicate with workers and employers confidentially in more than 200 languages at its toll-free helpline, 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).

Download the agency’s new Timesheet App, which is available in English and Spanish for Android and Apple devices, to ensure hours and pay are accurate. 

Employer:                              

Swahili Village Bar and Grill,  2 Center St., Newark, NJ  07102

Investigation findings: A U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation found that Swahili Village Bar and Grill in Newark, New Jersey willfully failed to pay 84 servers, cooks and bussers overtime pay when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

Back Wages Recovered:                   $62,335 in overtime wages for 84 employees 

Liquidated Damages Recovered:    $62,335 in liquidated damages for 84 employees

Civil Money Penalties Assessed:      $44,100 in civil money penalties for willful violations

Quote: “Restaurant industry workers too often fall victim to employers who shortchange their wages and deprive them of their hard-earned wages,” said Wage and Hour District Director Paula Ruffin in Mountainside, New Jersey. “When the pay practices of employers like Swahili Village Bar and Grill violate federal law, we will hold them accountable and do all we can to recover the wages owed to employees.” 

Workers can use the division’s Workers Owed Wages search tool to see if they are owed back wages collected by the division. Employers and workers can contact the Wage and Hour Division for assistance 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.

EVANSVILLE, IN – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent order and judgment in which an Evansville diner owner and his restaurant  will pay $390,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 44 employees to resolve litigation brought after the department’s investigation found the restaurant operated an invalid top pool, denied workers overtime pay and retaliated against employees who cooperated with investigators. 

The order by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana on Aug. 20, 2024, also requires Friendship Diner LLC and owner, Bardhyl Shabani, to pay $10,000 in civil money penalties for the repeated and willful nature of its violations and forbids the employers from all future violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“The court order should remind all employers that every employee has the right to cooperate with federal investigators or to question their employers’ pay practices without fear of harassment or retaliation,” explained Regional Solicitor Christine Heri in Chicago. “The Department of Labor will continue to hold employers who violate workers’ rights accountable for their wrongful actions and take steps to prevent future violations.”

In addition to the payment of back wages, damages and penalties, the order requires Friendship Diner and Shabani to post and display the court judgment in the restaurant along with contact information for the local Wage and Hour Division office and provide employees with a copy of the Handy Reference Guide to the Fair Labor Standards Act. Shabani must also attend an upcoming Southern Indiana outreach event on wage laws. 

On Feb. 28, 2024, the department filed a complaint in federal court seeking back wages and liquidated damages for 44 workers employed by Friendship Diner LLC after the employers failed to resolve the findings of the Wage and Hour Division’s investigation. Specifically, the division determined the following:

• The diner operated an illegal tip-sharing pool by requiring servers to return $10 in tips for each weekday shift and $15 in tips for each weekend shift to management. The employers either kept the tips or used them to pay bussers’ hourly wages. By misusing these tips, the employers invalidated their tip credit.
• Shabani failed to pay overtime at time and one-half the regular rate-of-pay for hours over 40 in a workweek, did not pay workers the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour and failed to keep accurate payroll records as required.

“The court order will return these wages to the people who rightfully earned them,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Aaron Loomis in Indianapolis. “Any worker with questions about the wages they’re due should contact the Department of Labor for assistance and clarification.”

On March 6, 2024, the department filed a request for a restraining order and injunction after learning Shabani was harassing and threatening employees in an attempt to coerce them into giving false statements to investigators about the mandatory nature of the diner’s tip pool, an FLSA violation. In response, the court forbid the employers from any form of harassment, intimidation or retaliation against employees on May 13, 2024.

Attorney Haley R. Jenkins in the department’s Regional Office of the Solicitor in Chicago is litigating the case.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws that prohibit retaliation, contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Workers and employers can call the division confidentially with questions, and the division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages, regardless of where a caller is from. Download the agency’s new Timesheet App, which is available in English and Spanish for Android and Apple devices, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

U.S. Department of Labor v. Friendship Diner LLC, Bardhyl Shabani

WILKES-BARRE, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment to recover $1.3 million in back wages, withheld tips and liquidated damages for 51 workers employed by a Wilkes-Barre restaurant and its owner, whose pay practices illegally deprived workers of their full wages. 

Entered in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, the judgment follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division and lengthy litigation by the department’s Office of the Solicitor, that found several violations of federal wage regulations by La Tolteca Wilkes-Barre Inc., operator of La Tolteca Authentic Mexican Restaurant, and owner Carlos De Leon. 

The division found the employers violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by requiring servers and bartenders to surrender a percentage of their tips, based on their total sales, to the restaurant at each shift’s end, instead of contributing them to a valid tip pool. The employers failed to keep records of how the tips were used, making them unable to prove the restaurant’s tip pool was valid. Investigators also determined the employers did not pay three non-exempt salaried cooks overtime wages for hours over 40 in a workweek, as the law requires.  Before entering the consent judgment, the court agreed with these findings in granting the department’s motion for summary judgment. 

“Customer tips for good service are the property of the people who earned them, not their employers,” said Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “Misuse of all or any portion of tips by management violates workers’ rights. This is a common concern in the restaurant industry and the U.S. Department of Labor remains committed to ensuring all workers are paid all of their rightful wages and that businesses do not gain an unfair advantage over competitors that abide by the law.”

The judgment requires the restaurant and De Leon to pay the affected workers $651,778 in back wages and restored tips, plus an equal amount in liquidated damages. The employer will also pay a $26,443 civil money penalty, due to the willful nature of the violations. The consent judgment permanently forbids the employers from future FLSA violations.

“The outcome of this investigation and litigation shows restaurant industry employers that illegally tampering with their workers’ wages and tips violates their rights and can have costly consequences,” said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. “The U.S. Department of Labor will use every tool available, including litigation, to prevent employers from depriving workers of their wages.”

The Wage and Hour Division’s Wilkes-Barre District Office conducted the investigation. The regional Office of the Solicitor in Philadelphia litigated the case.

The division is currently distributing monies owed to workers covered by this investigation. Current and former employees who believe they are owed wages are encouraged to use the division’s Workers Owed Wages online search tool to claim their back wages or to contact the division’s Wilkes-Barre District Office at (570) 826-6316 if they have questions.

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 worked over 40 in a workweek.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division and workers’ rights, including a restaurant compliance assistance toolkit and a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

Employers and workers can call the division confidentially with questions, regardless of their immigration status. The division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for Android and iOS devices, available in English and Spanish, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

COLUMBIA, SC – The U.S. Department of Labor is encouraging employers and stakeholders in South Carolina’s highway construction industry to participate in a statewide survey to help its Wage and Hour Division establish prevailing wage rates for construction workers on federally funded and assisted construction projects.

The Davis-Bacon and Related Acts require the department to set the prevailing wage rates that reflect the actual wages and fringe benefits paid to construction workers in the county where the work occurs. 

This survey requests information about wages paid by employers on highway construction projects in South Carolina where construction occurred from Sept. 9, 2023, to Dec. 9, 2024. Not limited to federally funded construction projects, survey findings are critical to the publication of prevailing wage and fringe benefit rates that reflect the rates paid accurately in the area being surveyed. Complete determinations also reduce the number of contractors requesting additional labor classifications. The department encourages all industry employers and stakeholders to participate.

The division will send notification letters to interested parties and contractors known to the agency that will direct them to the website where they can complete the survey. To be included, please complete and submit the online survey by Dec. 9, 2024. Online completion of the survey is strongly encouraged. 

Participants may also submit the information by mail but must first contact the division at (866) 236-2773 and request a form be mailed to them. Learn more about the surveys. 

If you have questions about the survey process and forms, please contact the Davis-Bacon Survey Center at (866) 236-2773 or Davisbaconinfo@dol.gov. 

People interested in getting more information about this survey may attend one of two free, online briefings that will describe the survey process and offer instructions for completing the survey. These briefings will be held on Sept. 10, 2024, and Sept. 12, 2024. Register to attend an upcoming briefing. 

Employer name:             Turf Paradise Inc.

Investigation site:           41 3rd Ave. 

                                                  Longmont, CO 80501 

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Turf Paradise Inc. failed to pay overtime to 56 workers when the Longmont snow removal and landscaping company improperly claimed an exemption for seasonal recreational and amusement workers. The employer paid the affected workers their base rate when they should have paid time and one-half their regular rate-of-pay for hours over 40 in a workweek, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

 Back wages recovered:  $66,316 in back wages

Damages recovered:        $66,316 in liquidated damages                       

Quote: “Employers must comply with federal law and pay workers the overtime wages they are rightfully owed,” said Wage and Hour District Director David Skinner in Denver. “Employers have the obligation of understanding what the law requires. If you need help with any of the laws, please call the Wage and Hour Division.”

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division and how to file an online complaint. For confidential compliance assistance, employees and employers can call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from.

Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices – also available in Spanish – to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

Employers:    Lasting Love Homecare LLC

                             1906 E. Broadway Ave.

                              Bismarck, ND

Action:           Wage and Hour Division investigation 

Action:  The Department of Labor has recovered $73,680 in overtime wages for 76 employees of Lasting Love Homecare LLC after an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division found the Bismarck employer incorrectly claimed an exemption in North Dakota state administrative code and violated federal overtime regulations for overtime. The home care provider also incurred recordkeeping violations. 

Investigators found Lasting Love Homecare paid straight time for overtime hours worked to 76 non-exempt employees. The employer wrongly understood state law related to overtime exemptions for domestic service workers and failed to recognize that, as third-party employers, they are ineligible to claim the exemption. The division determined the affected workers were owed time and one-half their hourly rate-of-pay for hours over 40 in a workweek. 

Quote: “Home care workers play a vital role in assisting older adults and individuals with disabilities to maintain their independence and engage with their communities. In return, their employers must pay these workers all of their hard-earned wages, including overtime when required.” said Wage and Hour District Director David Skinner in Denver. “We encourage employers to review their pay practices and to contact the Wage and Division to avoid compliance issues and their sometimes-costly consequences.”

Background: In fiscal year 2023, the Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $31.8 million in back wages for workers in the healthcare industry nationwide.

The Wage and Hour Division offers resources for healthcare workers on its website.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division and how to file an online complaint. For confidential compliance assistance, employees and employers can call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from.

Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices – also available in Spanish –to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

Date of action:           July 18, 2024

Type of action:          Administrative Review Board decision, order

Employer names:      Shalimar Distributors LLC, operating as Promised Land Truck Stop

TAFS Corp., operating as Whistle Stop gas station

Mohammad Tahir, owner and manager

Addresses:                  

Shalimar Distributors LLC ,  624 Route 390, Tafton, PA 18646

TAFS Corp. ,  1405 PA 507, Greentown, PA 18426

Background:              

An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined that, from 2015 to 2018, Mohammed Tahir failed to pay 65 employees at two of his businesses minimum wage and overtime as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. Investigators found $42,265 in back wages owed to 47 Promised Land Truck Stop workers and $17,425 in back wages owed to 18 Whistle Stop employees, plus equal amounts in liquidated damages. The division also assessed $45,722 in civil money penalties against the employer for the employer’s willful violations. 

 After the employer refused to resolve the violations, the department’s Office of the Solicitor filed a complaint in August 2018 against both companies and Tahir. In its July 2020 summary judgment, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania affirmed that the employer violated the law and owed the amounts the department sought.

In February 2021, the employer appealed the civil money penalties to the Office of Administrative Law Judges, which reduced the penalty to $13,800 in its October 2022 decision and order. In March 2023, the department filed a Petition for Review of the Decision and Order with the Administrative Review Board to appeal the OALJ decision. 

Resolution:                 

On July 18, 2024, the ARB issued a decision and order that reversed the OALJ decision and required the employer to pay the $45,722 civil money penalties first assessed.

Quotes:                      

 “The Wage and Hour Division assessed the civil money penalties against the employer due to their willful disregard of the law, and the Administrative Review Board affirmed our original assessment,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Jo-Ann Gregory in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. 

 “The outcome in this case shows that the U.S. Department of Labor will use all necessary litigation tools to hold employers accountable when they deny workers their hard-earned wages and try to avoid the costly consequences,” explained Regional Solicitor of Labor Samantha Thomas in Philadelphia.