Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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NEW YORK -- A group of restaurants located in New York City and their owner have paid a total of $282,713.47 in back wages to resolve a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor alleging violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, followed an investigation by the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division that disclosed violations of the FLSA’s minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping provisions since April 2006 at restaurants located in Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx.

Under a consent judgment signed Aug. 12 by Judge Kio Matsumoto, Pollos Ala Brassa Pio Pio Inc., Pio Pio Restaurant Inc., Pio Pio Express Inc., Pio Pio NYC Inc., Pio Pio 85 Inc., Sipan Restaurant of New York Inc. and owner Augusto Yallico paid the back wages for 62 employees and are prohibited from future violations of the FLSA’s minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping and anti-retaliation provisions. The restaurants serve Peruvian-style food in New York City.

The defendants, who neither admitted nor denied the allegations in the complaint, also are required to advise all employees in English and Spanish of their rights under the FLSA and to post official FLSA posters where employees can see them.

“This investigation was conducted under the Wage and Hour Division’s restaurant initiative, which is aimed at ensuring that low-wage workers in the city’s restaurant industry are properly compensated for their labor,” said Philip Jacobson, director of the division’s district office in New York City. “In this case, the employer cooperated with our investigation and has made prompt payment of the back wages. We encourage other employers to follow this example in order to prevent current and future violations.”

Jacobson noted that the Wage and Hour Division is attempting to locate several workers who are no longer employed by the restaurants to pay them the back wages they are due. Individuals who believe they are due back wages as part of this settlement should contact the division’s Brooklyn Area Office at 718-254-9410.

The FLSA requires covered, nonexempt employees to be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $6.55 per hour for all hours worked, and time and one-half their regular rates of pay for hours worked beyond 40 in a week. Employers must also maintain accurate time and payroll records.

The Labor Department’s Regional Solicitor’s Office in New York City filed the suit. For more information about the requirements of the FLSA, contact the Wage and Hour Division offices in Brooklyn at 718-254-9410 or Manhattan at 212-264-8185 or call the Department of Labor’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

Chao v. Pollos Ala Brasa Pio Pio Inc. et al; Civil Action Number: CV - 08-3228

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