The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $1,651,550 in back wages and liquidated damages from the owner of seven LosAngeles restaurants who denied 83 workers overtime wages and kept false pay records in an attempt to hide the wage theft.
The Department of Labor found that Ocha Classic restaurant intentionally did not pay the affected workers overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek and created false records showing they worked no overtime hours. Both actions violate the Fair Labor Standards Act.
“Wage theft is used by unscrupulous restaurant industry employers to increase their bottom lines at the expense of some of our nation’s lowest paid workers,” explained Jessica Looman, Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division. “We work tirelessly to recover hard-earned wages owed to workers like these, and employers who disregard workers’ rights accountable for their illegal pay practices and their attempt to mislead our investigators.”
In addition to recovering $825,775 in overtime back wages and an equal amount in damages, the division assessed $62,167 in civil money penalties for the willful nature of the restaurant’s wage theft violations.
In fiscal year 2021, the Department of Labor recovered more than $34.7 million for more than 29,000 workers in the food service industry.
If you believe you are victim of wage theft, please contact the attorneys at Pechman Law Group at 212-583-9500. We have recovered over 20 million dollars on behalf of workers who have been cheated out of their overtime or have been subjected to other unlawful pay practices.
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