A Concord business owner has agreed to pay employees nearly $1 million in back wages, damages and overtime that were otherwise withheld in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping requirements.
El Rodeo and Casa Tequila owner Gilberto Reyes, who has restaurants in Concord, Seabrook and Salem, Massachusetts, was ordered to pay back wages and damages to 99 employees in Massachusetts, U.S. Department of Labor officials announced.
“El Rodeo and Casa Tequila deprived nearly 100 workers of their rightful pay, making them work much harder for these workers to support themselves and provide for their families,” said Steven McKinney, wage and hour director for the U.S. Department of Labor. “The more than $900,000 in wages and damages recovered following this investigation will go a long way toward making these workers whole after the losses they suffered.”
Following a lengthy investigation, the division announced that Reyes failed to pay certain employees for hours worked, failed to pay the federal minimum wage of $7.25, shorted overtime pay and did not maintain records of hours worked and payments made to employees.
As a result, Reyes was ordered to pay employees $455,784 in back wages and an additional $455,000 in damages. Additionally, he was ordered to comply with federal minimum wage, overtime and record keeping requirements and not to retaliate against any of the employees.
“These types of wage violations – too often found in the restaurant industry – are preventable when employers access the available information and resources,” McKinney added.