Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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SAN FRANCISCO -- A local restaurant chain has agreed to pay $62,500 in back wages after a Labor Department investigation revealed that the company falsified records and failed to pay overtime wages as required by federal law. The case was settled on behalf of 212 cashiers and cooks who worked at Bravo Burgers restaurants in San Dimas, Pomona, Redlands, Chino Hills, Adelanto and Victorville.

Investigators with the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found that Bravo Burgers, Inc., owned by Angelos Theodossis, paid employees straight time for overtime hours worked and falsified work hour records. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that employees earn one-and-one-half times their regular rate for hours worked over 40 per week.

"The Department of Labor is committed to ensuring all workers are paid the overtime they are entitled to receive," said George Friday, regional administrator of the Wage and Hour Division in San Francisco. Friday noted that restaurant workers, including those at smaller chains, are often low-wage workers and are of particular concern to his agency. The WHD recovered more than $212 million in back wages in fiscal year 2003 -- a 21 percent increase over the previous year.

In addition to the overtime pay violations, investigators found one underage worker and two instances where teenage workers routinely worked more than the hours allowed on school days according to federal youth employment regulations. The company has agreed to pay $2,300 in civil money penalties assessed for the illegal employment of minors. Friday encourages restaurant employers to use the department's new web-based assessment tool to help them determine whether they are in compliance with federal regulations governing youth employment. The web address is: www.youthrules.dol.gov/selfassess_tools.htm.

Theodissis signed a consent judgment filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The back wages compensate employees for work performed during the two-year period ending in February 2002. The department previously cited the firm following a 1997 investigation.

For more information about the FLSA, call the East Los Angeles Wage and Hour office at (626) 966-0478 or the Department of Labor's toll-free help line at 1-866-4US WAGE (1-866-487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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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.