Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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MIAMI -- The owner of Key West Seafood Buffet has agreed to pay $44,443 in overtime back wages to 25 employees after the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division determined the company violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

“The Labor Department is committed to ensuring that low-wage, non-exempt employees are paid at an overtime rate when they work more than 40 hours in a work week,” said Will Garnitz, district director for the Wage and Hour Division in Miami.

A Wage and Hour investigation determined that between May 2003 and April 2005, the company paid servers, dishwashers and food preparers a straight salary, regardless of the number of hours they worked. Because the restaurant failed to keep accurate records, investigators interviewed the employer and employees to determine hours of work.

The restaurant owner cooperated with investigators and agreed to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act in the future.

The overtime provisions of the FLSA require employers to pay covered, non-exempt workers one-and-one-half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a single work week and to maintain accurate employment records.

The Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $200 million in back wages in fiscal year 2004 for more than 288,000 workers. Average days to resolve a complaint during that time decreased from 108 to 92 days.

For more information about the FLSA, call the department’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243); visit the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov; or contact the Miami Wage and Hour Division office, Sunset Center, 10300 Sunset Dr., Room 255; phone: (305) 596-9874.

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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.