US Department of Labor recovers $17,000 from restaurant employees

United States – The owner of Smoky Hearth Restaurant Bar and Grill, Smoky Hearth LLC, was found to have violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by keeping all tips earned by tipped employees and using them to pay wages and other company expenditures.

A total of $17,087 in back wages for eight employees was recovered. A penalty of $1,257 has been imposed to address the willful nature of the violations.

“Servers, bartenders, and other front-line employees are the ones who deserve the gratuities that customers leave for restaurant staff. Any attempt by an employer to retain these tips is against the law, according to Carrie Aguilar, district director of the Wage and Hour Division in Portland.”

The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to upholding employees’ rights to retain all of their earnings, including tips, and to stop employers from deducting employee debt from their paychecks.

The Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $31.7 million in back wages for workers in the food service sector during the fiscal year 2021. Employers can reach the Wage and Hour Division by calling 1-866-4-US-WAGE, which is a toll-free number. The division also provides a ton of online tools for companies, such a fact sheet on FLSA wage rules and overtime requirements.