SAN ANTONIO – The operator of 19 San Antonio-area Dairy Queen locations failed to pay 31 managers as required and must pay back wages and interest to the employees, following a U.S. Department of Labor investigation and federal court order.
The department’s Wage and Hour Division recovered $358,200 in back wages and interest from R&S Dairy Queens Inc. for the employees. The division determined the managers, who received less than the required minimum salary for managers under the Fair Labor Standards Act , were entitled to the minimum wage for every hour of work and overtime when they worked more than 40 in a work week.
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in San Antonio affirmed the division’s findings in a consent judgment and issued an injunction prohibiting R&S Dairy Queens from future violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act ’s overtime and recordkeeping provisions.
“Employers cannot avoid overtime requirements by simply giving an employee a title and paying them a salary,” said Wage and Hour District Director Cynthia Ramos in San Antonio. “Most employees – even those paid a fixed salary or flat amount per day or shift – are entitled to overtime unless specific FLSA requirements are met. We encourage other employers to review their pay practices, and to contact us with questions to avoid similar violations.” R&S Dairy Queens Inc. operates 19 franchise locations in San Antonio and the surrounding area with approximately 350 full- and part-time employees.
For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division , and use its search tool if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions – regardless of their immigration status – and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.
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Source: Wage and Hour Division
