CALIFORNIA – The United States Department of Labor has successfully recovered $245,722 in back wages and damages for 10 cooks after discovering that the owner and operator of four restaurants in Northern California deliberately denied them overtime pay and required minimum wages.
The Wage and Hour Division of the department found that The Pho restaurants and its principal owner, Thuan Do, were aware of federal wage regulations but chose to pay affected employees a fixed salary for all hours worked. This action, violated the minimum wage and overtime requirements set by the Fair Labor Standards Act.
It was also discovered that the employer falsified payroll records and reported fewer hours worked by employees to feign compliance. The investigation, conducted at two locations in Modesto and one each in Stockton and Manteca, revealed that the employer owed affected workers $122,861 in unpaid overtime and minimum wages, as well as an equal amount in liquidated damages.
Cesar Avila, District Director of the Wage and Hour Division in Sacramento, stated, “The United States Department of Labor is committed to holding employers accountable, especially when they deliberately deny employees their hard-earned wages.”
“The Pho and its owner have learned that there are costly consequences for violating federal wage regulations. We urge employers unsure of their obligations to contact us for assistance and avoid compliance issues.”
Since fiscal year 2020, the Sacramento District Office of the Division has recovered over $2 million in back wages and liquidated damages for 469 workers in the food service industry and has imposed $215,081 in fines on employers.
