U.S. Department of Labor secures $750,000 wage judgment against Washington restaurant operators

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Labor secures $750k for workers

Highlights

A U.S. District Court ordered Nolberto and Guillermina Rodríguez and their companies to pay $750,000 in back wages and damages after federal labor law violations.
The Department of Labor found Rancho Chico and Blanco Inc. failed to pay time-and-a-half overtime, paid some employees below the $7.25 minimum wage, and violated child labor and anti-retaliation rules.
The consent judgment requires immediate compliance with wage laws, accurate recordkeeping, and prohibits retaliation against employees exercising their workplace rights.

Court order follows labor violations probe

As reported by the U.S. Department of Labor, a consent judgment entered in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington requires Nolberto and Guillermina Rodríguez, owners of Blanco Inc. and Mi Rancho Chico Inc., to pay workers after an investigation under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found the employers failed to pay time-and-a-half overtime to employees who worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. Investigators also found some nonexempt employees were paid on a salaried basis for all hours worked, pushing some earnings below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.

The investigation also found the business unlawfully retaliated against an employee who filed a wage complaint. Federal investigators further found violations of child labor rules that prohibit minors from operating hazardous equipment.

Payment enforcement and compliance obligations

After the investigation, the Rodríguezes agreed to pay back wages to the 42 employees but did not ultimately pay the amounts owed. That led the department’s Office of the Solicitor and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington to seek a federal court order compelling payment of wages and damages.

Under the consent judgment, Rancho Chico and the Rodríguezes must pay $750,000 in back wages and damages and comply with federal labor laws going forward. The order requires proper payment for all hours worked, accurate recordkeeping, and no retaliation against workers who exercise their rights.

Wage and Hour Division Administrator Andrew Rogers says employers that ignore the findings of a federal wage investigation face serious consequences. Regional Solicitor of Labor Marc Pilotin says the Labor Department will keep working with the Department of Justice to hold employers accountable for violations of their obligations to workers.

In our earlier coverage of the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s proposed overhaul of fines for individuals, we explained how the regulator wants broader powers to ensure penalties remain a real deterrent after court rulings forced changes to its calculation methods. We also noted plans to raise the minimum fine for serious market abuse and to factor in overall wealth when income alone would not make a sanction meaningful.

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