LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A popular Las Vegas Valley Mexican restaurant has been penalized for denying more than 30 workers overtime wages.
The labor department says it recovered more than 475,000 dollars in back wages and liquidated damages from the owner of Juan’s Flaming Fajitas and Cantina restaurants.
The department says they didn’t pay people overtime rates if they worked over 40 hours in a week and that some of the employees impacted worked at more than one location.
The chain has three locations in the valley; one in Henderson and two in Las Vegas.
The department says that the employer agreed to correct its record keeping practices as a result of this probe.
“Our investigators found Juan’s Flaming Fajitas & Cantina deliberately withheld overtime pay earned by dozens of hard-working employees,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Gene Ramos in Las Vegas. “This case’s outcome highlights the importance of protecting workers’ rights, including their right to be paid fairly and fully, and reflects the types of violations we find far too often in food service industry investigations.”
In an interview with FOX5, Juan Vazquez, the owner of Juan’s, said he believes he was not deliberately denying any overtime payments to employees. Instead, he claims he would often provide multiple, individual paychecks to employees who requested to work at more than one location, in an effort to provide them additional hours.
“We did not deliberately deny anyone pay, we just did not know we were out of compliance,” Vazquez said.
Vazquez says he was fully cooperative with the department’s investigation and will pay the back wages in full.
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