Beto’s Restaurant Austin wage violations: $63K recovered by DOL

Federal investigators recovered $63,645 in back wages after finding overtime and minimum wage violations at a South Austin restaurant. Eight employees of Beto’s Restaurant and Bar were underpaid for their overtime work and had pay illegally deducted for uniform expenses, resulting in some workers being paid less than minimum wage, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.

The division announced Tuesday that it recovered $63,645 in wages for the workers after an investigation revealed the labor law violations at the South Austin eatery. The department said that following their findings, those wages were retroactively paid to employees by the employer.

“Wage violations, including failing to track and pay for all hours worked, continue to be a major concern for workers in the food services industry,” said Wage and Hour Division Acting District Director Charles Frasier. “The Wage and Hour Division offers assistance to employers to help them avoid these kinds of violations and will continue to assure that workers get all the pay they have earned.”

Investigators found that the restaurant did not pay workers the legally required overtime rate of time-and-a-half, despite employees working an average of eight hours of overtime per week. The employer also did not pay some employees at all for work duties completed outside their shift hours.

The division also determined that the restaurant deducted expenses for work uniforms from tipped employees' wages, causing their pay to fall below the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked.

The Department of Labor said that workers with questions about pay can contact the Wage and Hour Division at 866-4US-WAGE, while employers can use the agency’s compliance assistance resources and its PAID program to self-report and resolve certain wage and hour violations. The division also offers an online tool for workers who think they may be owed back wages and a free timesheet app for iOS and Android to help track hours and pay.