The U.S. Department of Labor has launched a new investigation of wage law violations related to the disbursement of DOL ordered overtime reimbursement by the Upper Crust pizzeria chain, which has 17 Massachusetts restaurants. Last year, the DOL ordered Upper Crust to pay over $340,000 to 121 workers for its failure to pay at the time-and-a-half rate for work over the 40 hour overtime threshold. This investigation comes on the heels of a lawsuit by former cooks accusing Upper Crust of deducting the compensation for the overtime reimbursement from their paychecks.
The example of Upper Crust should serve as a reminder of the importance of compliance with federal wage and hour laws in the restaurant industry. Restaurants should be particularly careful to maintain thorough records of wage history in order to demonstrate past compliance in the event of a complaint and/or investigation.
