Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The El Torito Mexican Grill Taqueria restaurants in Johnson City and Elizabethton, Tenn., have agreed to pay $181,458 in back wages for 53 employees, after the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division discovered violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) dating back to 2005.

The investigation was conducted as part of the Labor Department’s initiative to ensure that low-wage employees are being properly compensated.

“Employers need to understand that the Labor Department vigorously pursues cases where it finds that employees are not receiving the federal minimum wage and overtime payments due them under FLSA,” said Carol Merchant, director of the Wage and Hour Division’s Nashville District Office.

Wage and Hour Division investigators found that servers and kitchen employees were paid only for scheduled hours ranging from 25 to 40 hours per week when, in fact, they actually worked 45 to 60 hours. This practice resulted in both minimum wage and overtime violations. No actual records of hours worked were available to investigators.

The FLSA requires covered employees to be paid at least the minimum wage for all hours worked and time and one-half their regular rates of pay for hours worked over 40 per week. An employer of a tipped employee is only required to pay $2.13 per hour in direct wages if that amount combined with the tips received at least equals the federal minimum wage. If the employee’s tips combined with the employer’s direct wages of at least $2.13 per hour do not equal the federal minimum hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference. Employers must also maintain accurate time and payroll records.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws administered by the Wage and Hour Division, call the Labor Department’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), visit the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov, or contact the division’s Nashville office at 1321 Murfreesboro Road, Suite 511; telephone: 615-781-5344.

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