La Plaza Tapatia Supermarket LLC, Los Tres Amigos Supermarket LLC, and Jalapeños Mexican Restaurant & Cantina LLC in Columbus have agreed to pay $232,000 in back wages to 267 employees to settle charges from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD).
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Investigators found that the employees, who worked in two supermarkets and three restaurants, regularly worked more than 60 hours per week for fixed salaries, resulting in unpaid overtime and minimum wages. Some employees were paid as little as $300 per week for 70 hours of labor, the WHD reported. The department further found that some of the violations were willful and assessed an additional $30,000 in penalties.
According to the WHD, the employers kept two sets of records and initially gave false documents to investigators. The department filed consent judgments in federal district court to permanently enjoin each company from future violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Under the consent agreement, Los Tres Amigos Supermarket LLC in Cincinnati will pay 85 employees $88,795; La Plaza Tapatia Supermarket LLC in Columbus will pay 126 employees $113,793; Los Jalapeños Reynoldsburg will pay 30 workers $9,061; Los Jalapeños Grove City will pay 17 workers $18,159; and Los Jalapeños Gahanna will pay 9 workers $2,190. Time clocks will be installed at each location, the WHD said.