Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The U.S. Department of Labor has filed legal actions against the owners and operators of the Oriental Forest chain of Chinese buffet-style restaurants in Michigan for alleged ongoing violations of the minimum wage, overtime pay and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), seeking to recover back wages for at least 129 workers.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division conducted an investigation covering a three-year span beginning in February 2004, with findings that the business failed to maintain an accurate record of hours worked, pay the federal minimum wage, and pay time and one-half for all hours worked in excess of 40 per week.

In two separate lawsuits, both naming business owners Dong Lin and Li Jin Yang, Grandville, Mich., and one naming business partner Chang Kong Ni, Pontiac, Mich., the Labor Department has asked the federal district court in Grand Rapids to order the three defendants to pay back wages owed to employees and an equal amount in liquidated damages. Violations are alleged to have occurred in Oriental Forest restaurants located in Auburn Hills, Grand Rapids, Plainfield Township, Wyoming, Grandville, Waterford and Newaygo, Mich.

The FLSA requires employees to be paid the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and time and one-half their regular rates of pay for hours worked over 40 in a week, unless an employee is exempt from overtime pay. Employers must also maintain accurate time and payroll records.

Effective July 24, 2007, the federal minimum wage for covered nonexempt employees will be $5.85 per hour. The minimum wage will increase to $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008, and to $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009.

For more information, 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. Information about the current exemption for white collar executive, administrative and professional employees can be found on the Internet at http://www.dol.gov/fairpay.

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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.