PENNSYLVANIA — A restaurant chain that has locations in the Pittsburgh-area has paid $11.4 million in back wages and liquidated damages for more than 1,000 employees.
According to the United States Department of Labor, the money was recovered after a series of investigations and litigation in connection with 40 Plaza Azteca Mexican restaurant locations owned by Ruben Leon in seven states.
Plaza Azteca locations involved in the lawsuit included Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina and Virginia.
Of the over 1,000 employees involved in the lawsuit, 28 Pittsburgh workers will be getting $236,000 in back wages and damages.
An investigation showed Leon and the restaurants violated overtime and minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Department of Labor said.
“Our investigators found Plaza Azteca knew of its legal obligations to pay workers minimum wage and overtime and keep accurate payroll records and yet, willfully disregarded federal law,” said Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “The employers failed to pay full wages to more than 1,000 employees. The court’s action in this case is an important step in our efforts to make a meaningful difference in the lives of these workers by recovering their hard-earned wages.”
Specifically, the department alleged that numerous Plaza Azteca Mexican restaurants paid back-of-the-house employees predetermined amounts. By doing so, the employers failed to pay some employees who worked up to 40 hours in a workweek the required minimum wage and did not pay some employees time-and-a-half for hours over 40 in a workweek
The employers also failed to maintain accurate records of employees’ work hours and wages, the department said.
“This outcome sends a strong message to other restaurant industry employers of the costly consequences that can occur when they deprive employees of their full and rightful wages,” said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. “As we did in this case, the U.S. Department of Labor will strategically deploy our investigative and litigation resources to remedy systemic violations of the law at a national scale across an enterprise’s locations.”
The Wage and Hour Division encourages former or current affected employees to contact the division at 215-861-5180 with any questions.
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