General

Upscale Restaurants Denying Workers Overtime Pay

A Beverly Hills upscale sushi restaurant, Urasawa, is under investigation by the California Labor Department for allegedly denying overtime pay and forbidding employees from taking breaks. One particular sushi bar employee contends that he often worked nearly 60 hours per week for only $11.50 per hour until one night he was fired for asking to go home after suffering a fever.  Mr. Urasawa is currently appealing a state fine of $55,000.00.

Investigators often wait outside of restaurants and watch workers arrive and leave and compare those hours to what they see on employers’ books.  Employers are required to keep time records for all employees.

Unfortunately, many industries across the board feel that they do not owe their hard-working employees overtime pay, even though the employees are non-exempt employees and therefore entitled to overtime wages.  Failure of an employer to pay overtime wages in those instances is a violation of Federal law.  The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to pay all non-exempt employees overtime wages for every hour worked over 40 hours per work week.

If you are an employee who is being denied overtime wages, please contact the attorneys at the Carr Law Firm, P.A., for aggressive representation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/21/us/at-an-upscale-beverly-hills-restaurant-claims-of-underpaying-workers.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0

Fri Aug 24, 5:36pm