The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a complaint in federal court against Gordo Corp., operating as El Gordito in Belleville, Illinois, and its owners Patricia and Samuel Gonzalez Lara. The complaint, lodged on May 21, 2024, alleges violations of federal minimum wage, overtime, and recordkeeping regulations.
According to the Department's Wage and Hour Division investigation, the restaurant failed to pay servers minimum wage for all hours worked. Additionally, servers and kitchen staff were not paid an overtime premium of time-and-a-half for hours exceeding 40 per week. The investigation also revealed that Gordo Corp. did not maintain complete and accurate records of employees' hours worked and often underreported these hours.
Further allegations include allowing full-time servers to keep their tips without enacting a proper tip credit, failing to pay the required cash wage of $2.13 per hour to servers (and often paying no cash wage at all), fabricating the number of hours servers worked, and manipulating tip amounts so that server paychecks appeared close to zero.
Payroll records from May 22, 2021 to May 21, 2023 were reviewed by investigators who determined approximately $150,000 in back wages are due to 11 employees. The complaint seeks an equal amount in liquidated damages—totaling $300,000—and an injunction against Gordo Corp. and its owners from committing future Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violations.
“We will not tolerate employers violating federal wage laws by making up hours worked and tips received in order to make it appear that they did not owe their servers any wages,” said Wage and Hour District Director Noah Lee in St. Louis, Missouri. “Employers are legally responsible for knowing and complying with federal wage laws.”
In fiscal year 2023 alone, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $29 million in back wages for workers within the food service industry nationwide.
For those who believe they may be owed back wages collected by the division or wish to file an online complaint can access resources provided by the Wage and Hour Division including a confidential compliance assistance helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Additionally, the agency offers a Timesheet App available on iOS and Android devices designed to ensure accurate tracking of work hours and pay.
