US Department of Labor recovers $167K in back wages, damages for 17 workers denied overtime pay by West Virginia restaurant

Employer name:  Ole Jose Grill & Cantina LLC, operating as Ole, Jose Grill & CantinaEmployer address: 564 River Drive Ave., Pineville, West Virginia 24784Investigation findings:  Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act when the employer improperly paid tipped employees time and one-half their cash wage for hours over 40 in a workweek – instead of time and one-half the applicable minimum wage.  Additionally, the employer misclassified one tipped employee as an independent contractor, paid kitchen staff a flat rate for all hours worked with no overtime premium paid and failed to keep hours worked records for the back of house kitchen employees.Back wages recovered: $83,632 to 17 employeesLiquidated damages paid: $83,632Quote: “Many restaurant workers struggle to make ends meet and they deserve to be paid for all hours worked. Employers who shortchange their employees will be held accountable,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director John DuMont in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.