The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $61,646 for 140 workers following investigations into three restaurants in Lamesa and Lubbock, Texas. The investigations revealed that these establishments had illegally withheld tips from their employees.
The Wage and Hour Division of the department assessed penalties totaling $7,200 against the operators of Ohana’s Japanese Steak Restaurant in Lamesa, and The Catch and Johnny Fab’s Cadillac Grill in Lubbock.
“Tips are the property of the people whose hard work earned them,” stated Evelyn Ortiz, Wage and Hour Division District Director in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “The employers in these cases illegally withheld workers’ tips and either kept them, shared them with non-tipped employees or used them to pay business expenses. Employers who shortchange tipped workers face costly consequences, which can include penalties in addition to back wages owed.”
At Ohana’s Japanese Steak Restaurant, operated by Tang Ohanas LLC, investigators found that the owner included themselves in the tip pool and retained most of the tips. This led to a recovery of $43,641 for eight employees and a penalty assessment of $768.
At The Catch, operated by Catch Lubbock South LLC, it was determined that salaried managers were improperly allowed to participate in the tip pool. This resulted in $13,752 being recovered for 107 employees and penalties amounting to $3,036.
Tres Patos Management LLC, operator of Johnny Fab’s Cadillac Grill, was found to have used tips to cover bar register shortages. This practice caused bartenders' pay rates to fall below minimum wage requirements. Consequently, $2,126 was recovered for 25 employees along with a penalty assessment of $3,425.
These actions are part of an ongoing initiative within the food service industry aimed at identifying wage violations and recovering back wages while assessing damages and civil money penalties when necessary.
In fiscal year 2023 alone, the Wage and Hour Division recovered over $29.6 million in back wages for nearly 26,000 food service workers and imposed penalties totaling $6.1 million.
The Wage and Hour Division enforces laws related to pay practices under statutes such as the Fair Labor Standards Act. It also determines if employers have misclassified employees as independent contractors thereby denying them essential benefits and protections.
For more information about potential owed back wages or other labor standards issues, individuals can contact the division's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Additionally, workers can use the agency’s new Timesheet App available on Android and Apple devices to ensure accurate tracking of hours worked and pay received.
