GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The U.S. Department of Labor recovered $62,412 in back wages and damages for 20 employees of a Grand Rapids restaurant.
The department found that Tacos el Cuñado Alpine LLC denied workers overtime wages and failed to pay one server minimum wage.
Now, Tacos el Cuñado Alpine LLC and owner Jessica Lopez must make immediate restitution to the employees denied their full wages.
Lopez must pay $31,206 in back pay to workers, along with an equal amount in liquidated damages to the restaurant’s affected current and former employees.
This comes after a federal court in Michigan supported the department’s findings of wrongdoing.
Investigators for the department’s Wage and Hour Division learned that the employer failed to keep accurate pay records and did not pay tipped and nontipped workers time-and-a-half for working more than 40 hours per week, which is a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
“The failure to pay overtime wages is far too common in the restaurant industry, particularly among vulnerable employees who may not understand their rights to overtime,” Wage and Hour District Director Mary O’Rourke said. “The Wage and Hour Division provides confidential advice, if needed, to workers and employers unsure of federal wage standards and compliance with the law.”
Investigators checked the employer’s payroll records from August 2020 to August 2022—claiming Lopez failed to resolve the wage violations administratively.
Click here to learn more about specific FLSA rules for the restaurant industry.
