Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against Shoreham Inc., which operates a restaurant under the name Ballard’s Inn on Block Island, R.I., for alleged violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping and youth employment provisions.

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island in Providence, names as defendants the company, President Marion Filippi, Vice President Paul C. Filippi and General Manager Steven Filippi.

“Because we are alleging that some violations are willful,” said Dianne Miller, director of the department’s Wage and Hour Division district office in Hartford, Conn., “we have assessed civil money penalties totaling $169,400. Since the defendants have filed a timely exception, that part of the case is now pending before the Labor Department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges.”

The suit alleges that, since May 1, 2004, the defendants have repeatedly and willfully failed to pay employees at least the federal minimum wage and often have required employees to work more than 40 hours in a workweek without properly compensating them for overtime. The suit also alleges that the defendants failed to maintain required employment records.

The FLSA requires that covered employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage as well as one and one-half times their regular rates of pay for hours worked over 40 per week. The law also requires that accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment be maintained, and prohibits a number of youth employment abuses.

This case was investigated by the Wage and Hour Division’s Hartford District Office and the suit was filed by the Labor Department’s Regional Solicitor’s Office in Boston. For more information about the FLSA, call the department’s toll-free help line at (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

Chao v. Shoreham Inc. et al; Civil Action Number: 07-120 S

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