Sometimes a business is a “bargain” because it isn’t following the rules. . .
An Alameda restaurant was cited $481,813 by the Labor Commissioner last week for civil penalties and wages owed to employees for violation of minimum wage, overtime and rest period laws.
According to an announcement by California’s Department of Industrial Relations, workers at Toomie’s Thai Cuisine “routinely worked at least 10.5 hours each day, up to seven days a week” and the owners did not pay the required minimum wage for overtime hours. Servers were paid $45 in cash per day; kitchen staff got between $75 and $120, according to the Labor Commissioner’s investigation. The citation figure breaks down to $108,200 in civil penalties and $373,613 back pay to the workers.
In an article about the citation, the San Francisco Chronicle noted that the restaurant “was the subject of a Bargain Bite feature last year.” I assume that the restaurant was a bargain because it wasn’t paying its labor costs. The investigation by the Labor Commissioner is part of that entity’s effort to level the playing field for businesses that follow the rules.
Follow the rules!
California Employment Law Blog 