Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, Rosa’s Mexican Grill Inc, owned by Dennis and Lizabeth Sirrine, has agreed to pay 13 low-wage workers $85,006 for unpaid overtime.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found that many of the restaurant’s employees worked as many as 65 hours per week but were paid straight time for all hours worked. The firm also paid the overtime in cash at the employees’ hourly rate, about $10.00 per hour. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that employees earn one-and-one-half times their regular rate for hours worked over 40 per week.

The Labor Department filed a consent judgment April 22 in the U. S. District Court for the District of Arizona. The final back wage payment is due August 25.

“The Department of Labor is committed to ensuring that workers are paid correctly for all hours worked, and we are pleased that $85,000 in back wages will be paid to these workers," said George Friday Jr., regional administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. The agency recovered nearly $200 million in back wages in fiscal year 2004 for more than 288,000 workers.

The back wages will compensate cooks, bussers, servers and dishwashers who worked in the firm’s restaurant, Rancho de Tia Rosa’s. Many of the employees were Spanish speakers. The investigation covered hours worked between March 3, 2001 and April 5, 2003.

For more information about the FLSA, call the Phoenix Wage and Hour office at (602) 514-7100 or the Department of Labor's toll-free help line at 1-866-4US WAGE (1-866-487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

Chao v. Rosa’s Mexican Grill, Inc. et al

Civil Action File No.: CV-02-1957 PHX-JWS

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