A Richland restaurant owner has agreed to pay 30 employees $175,000 in back pay and overtime wages.
An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's wage and hour division into the Great Wall Buffet found that 30 employees -- cooks, kitchen workers, dish washers and waiters -- were paid a fixed salary of $780 to $2,500 a month depending on their job. That averaged out to an hourly rate of $2.93 to $8.74.
They worked six days a week averaging 10 to 12 hours a day and weren't compensated for overtime, according to a release from the Department of Labor.
Officials with the agency's wage and hour division in Seattle could not be reached Tuesday about the agreement. And Tong DeChen, who owns the restaurant, declined Tuesday to talk about the case.
The Fair Labor Standards Act requires covered employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour and receive overtime at one and a half times their regular rate of pay for hours worked beyond 40 a week. Employers also must maintain accurate time and payroll records.
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The former owners of a Kennewick restaurant are being told to pay $531,000 in back wages and damages to underpaid employees, the U.S. Labor Department said Wednesday.
Guang Ri Weng and Zhen Fang Weng and their company Wok King International Buffet Inc. were sued by the department after an investigation showed they had violated minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping portions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
"Wage and Hour Division investigators found that some Wok King International Buffet employees worked an average of 63 hours a week without proper overtime compensation, and some earned wages as low as $1.93 per hour," said Donna Hart, director of the division's Seattle office.
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Toppenish plant pays $50,000 in back wages
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The Department of Labor and Industries announced the change Friday, raising the barrier from $8.67 an hour. The move will keep the state’s minimum wage as the highest in the nation.
Washington’s minimum wage is adjusted each year for inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for the past 12 months, which is up more than 4 percent.
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