U.S. Department of Labor issued the following announcement on Oct. 15.
After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) Osaka Steak House Sushi & Hibachi Inc. – doing business as Osaka Buffet in Moline, Illinois – will pay $78,970 in back wages to 33 current and former employees for violations of the minimum wage, overtime, and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA.
WHD investigators found that the employer paid all employees flat weekly salaries, regardless of job type or the number of hours they worked in a workweek. In some instances, those salaries failed to cover all the hours that employees worked at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Overtime violations occurred when the employer failed to pay overtime when these employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. Osaka Buffet also failed to maintain records of the number of hours employees worked and wage payments made to individual employees by both cash and check.
"Employers must pay their employees all the wages they have legally earned, and are required to maintain records of payments made to them – including those made in cash," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jim Yochim, in St. Louis, Missouri. "Simply because a pay practice may appear to be common in an industry does not mean that it is legal. Other employers should use this investigation as an opportunity to review their own practices to ensure they comply with the law. We encourage them to contact us for assistance in understanding their responsibilities so that they can avoid violations like those found in this case."
Original source can be found here.