Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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BOSTON -- The U.S. Department of Labor has sued a Provincetown, Mass., restaurant and its owner for alleged violations of federal overtime pay and record-keeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Named in the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, are Dancing Lobster, Inc., and the corporate owner, Nils J. Berg.

Corey Surett, district director of the department's Wage and Hour Division in Boston, said that an investigation by his office revealed that 12 restaurant employees, many of whom were foreign workers who the employer brought into the country under the H-2B visa program, were required to work many hours of overtime without proper compensation. The defendants also failed to maintain adequate and accurate records of their employees' wages, hours and other conditions of employment, according to the investigation findings.

"Employers, especially those in low-wage industries, should be aware that the mission of the U.S. Department of Labor is to ensure that employees are paid properly under the law," said Surett. "The filing of this case demonstrates that we will not hesitate to resort to litigation if necessary to enforce the law."

The FLSA requires that employees be paid at least the applicable minimum wage; time and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 per week; and that accurate records be maintained of employees' wages, hours and other conditions of employment. The law also regulates the employment of young workers less than 18 years of age.

The lawsuit, filed on July 20, 2004, alleges that the violations have taken place since April 1, 2002, and asks the court for a judgment prohibiting the defendants from future violations of the FLSA. The complaint also asks the court to order the payment of all due back wages plus an equal amount in liquidated damages.

The Wage and Hour Division office in Boston investigated this case, and the lawsuit was filed by the department's Regional Solicitor's Office in Boston. For more information about the requirements of the FLSA, call the Department of Labor's toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243) or contact the Boston Wage and Hour office at 617-624-6700. Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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