Dos Taquitos Mexican Restaurant of Raleigh, N.C., is to pay 26 employees $48,125 in back wages after it violated the Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum wage, overtime, child labor and record-keeping provisions.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, which conducted the investigation, finds that employees were paid fixed salaries regardless of the number of hours worked, resulting in pay rates below the federal minimum wage at $7.25 per hour. Dos Taquitos also did not pay overtime compensation at time and one-half the employees' regular rates for more than 40 hours in a workweek, and a 14-year-old employee worked more hours that are acceptable under the FLSA's Child Labor Regulation No. 3. This provision limits the total hours and times of day 14- and 15-year-old employees may work. The DOL finds that Dos Taquitos did not maintain accurate records of hours worked, wages paid and proof of dates of birth for workers under 18, as well.
"The Wage and Hour Division is committed to protecting low-wage employees in the restaurant industry where we have found widespread FLSA violations," says Richard Blaylock, director of the Wage and Hour Division's Raleigh District Office. "Employers must not profit by exploiting some of our most vulnerable workers. This case should serve as notice to other employers who may not be paying their employees in accordance with federal law."
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As required by the FLSA, nonexempt employees must be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all working hours along with time and one-half their regular rates. This includes commissions, bonuses and incentive pay for hours worked beyond 40 per week. Only compensating for salary does not exempt an employer from minimum wage and overtime protections.
Typically, hours worked encompasses all time an employee must be on duty or on the employer's locations as well as all other designated workplaces. FLSA also mandates that employers keep accurate records of employees' wages, hours and other conditions of employment.
Under the FLSA's child labor provisions, young workers are protected by limiting the types of jobs as well as the number of hours they may work. Children under age 14 are not to be employed in nonagricultural occupations covered by the FLSA while 14- and 15-year-olds may be employed during nonschool hours in multiple nonmanufacturing and nonhazardous jobs for limited time frames under specified conditions.
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