Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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BOSTON -- Dancing Lobster Inc., Provincetown, Mass., and corporate owner Nils J. Berg have agreed to pay 12 of the restaurant’s employees a total of $36,861.15 in back wages to settle a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor. The suit alleged violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The department’s lawsuit, filed July 20, 2004, alleged that the defendants had violated various provisions of the FLSA, including requiring employees to work many hours of overtime without proper compensation and failing to maintain adequate and accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment.

The FLSA requires that employees be paid at least the applicable minimum wage and time and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 per week. The law also requires employers to maintain accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment and regulates the employment of workers under 18 years of age.

According to Corey Surett, district director of the department’s Wage and Hour Division in Boston, the defendants agreed to the entry of a consent judgment which prohibits them from future violations of the FLSA and requires them to pay the nearly $37,000 in overtime back wages no later than June 30, 2005. Dancing Lobster and Berg agreed to entry of the consent judgment by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts without admitting any liability.

Said Surett, “Employers, especially those in low-wage industries such as restaurants, should be aware that the U.S. Department of Labor is dedicated to ensuring that employees are paid properly. The resolution of this case demonstrates that we will not hesitate to resort to litigation to enforce the law.”

The Wage and Hour Division in Boston investigated this case, and the department’s Boston Regional Solicitor’s Office filed the lawsuit. For more information about the requirements of the FLSA, call the Department of Labor’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243) or contact the Boston Wage and Hour office at 617-624-6700. Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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U.S. Department of Labor releases are accessible on the Internet at www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the COAST office upon request. Please specify which news release when placing your request at (202) 693-7828 or TTY (202) 693-7755. The Labor Department is committed to providing America’s employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit www.dol.gov/compliance.