Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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SEATTLE -- Jai Thai Enterprises, operator of four restaurants in the Seattle area, will pay 47 of its employees a total of $174,700 in back wages for failure to pay the required overtime compensation and minimum wage required under federal law, the U.S. Department of Labor announced today.

“This Administration is committed to ensuring that employees receive the wages they have earned,” said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. “In this case, $174,700 was recovered in back pay for these workers. Through the determined efforts of the department’s Wage and Hour Division, nearly $197 million in back wages were recovered for workers last year.”

An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Jai Thai failed to pay overtime compensation to cooks, servers, hostesses and hourly bartenders. Additionally, many employees were paid in cash, and off the payroll at a rate of $20 per day -- which is less than the federal minimum wage of $5.15 an hour.

The department’s investigation covered the period from July 16, 2002 until July 15, 2004.

Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), covered employees must receive at the federal minimum wage and one and one half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek.

The WHD recovered more than $197 million in back wages in fiscal year (FY) 2004 for more than 288,000 workers. Average days to resolve a complaint decreased in FY 2004 from 108 days to 92 days.

For more information about the FLSA, call the Seattle Wage and Hour Office at 206-398-8039 or the department’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243). Information is also available at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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