Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Gene’s Seafood has agreed to pay $72,962 in back wages and penalties after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that the company violated provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) at its restaurants in Jacksonville.

“Paying employees in cash and not reporting them on the company’s payroll records does not exempt employers from federal labor laws,” said Michael Young, the Wage and Hour Division’s district director in Jacksonville. “Whenever we find these violations, the Labor Department will act to protect the rights of employees.”

Wage and Hour Division investigators found that restaurant employees were paid overtime at straight time rates, and part-time employees were paid in cash and not listed on the restaurants’ payroll records. The employer made deductions from employees’ pay for a variety of reasons including breakage, shortages, uniform purchases and errors in customer orders. These deductions caused some employees to be paid below the federal minimum wage. The 61 employees were due a total of $56,187 in back wages.

The company was required to pay $16,775 for repeatedly and willfully violating the overtime provisions of the FLSA.

The FLSA requires that covered employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $5.85 for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates of pay, including commissions, bonuses and incentive pay, for hours worked over 40 per week. Employers must also maintain accurate time and payroll records. Deductions made from wages for such items as cash or merchandise shortages, employer-required uniforms and tools of the trade are not legal to the extent that they reduce the wages of employees below the minimum rate required by FLSA or reduce the amount of overtime pay due under FLSA.

For more information about the FLSA, call the department’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243); visit the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov; or contact the Jacksonville District Office of the Wage and Hour Division, 400 West Bay Street, Suite 956; phone 904-359-9292.

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