NOLA Restaurant Ordered to Pay Back Wages | Netchex

Having your headquarters in the New Orleans metro area certainly does have its perks. The music, culture, history, and laissez-faire attitude are all enviable, but nothing tops the local food scene. With gumbo, jambalaya, po’boys, beignets, and more always at our fingertips, it is a miracle any of us get any work done at all.

For those who work in the local service industry, however. there is plenty of work to go around—almost too much in some cases, as many workers have been found not receiving proper overtime pay.

Earlier this month, Superior Seafood and Oyster Bar—a popular St. Charles Avenue restaurant—was ordered by the U.S. Department of Labor to pay $238,300 in back wages and damages to 222 employees.

After an investigation by the agency’s Wage and Hour Division, it was revealed that Superior Seafood failed to properly pay proper overtime wages to employees who worked more than 40 hours per week, which is a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Ultimately, it was discovered that the restaurant was not combining the hours worked each week by workers who held more than one position—as in, a worker who clocked 40 hours as a bartender and an additional 20 hours as a waiter was not paid any overtime. This deceptive designation led workers to be paid regular hourly wages for overtime work instead of the mandated time-and-a-half.

The DOL also accuses Superior Seafood of keeping false wage records and failing to take into account incentive bonuses before calculating overtime, therefore significantly shortchanging their employees.

DOL Wage and Hour Division District Director Troy Mouton warns that “other employers in this industry should use the outcome of this case as an opportunity to review their own payroll practices and make sure they comply with the law.”

Netchex has tons of experience dealing with precisely these issues for every industry, including the service industry and restaurants. We make time & attendance and payroll simple, including overtime tracking and variable wages.

Utilizing true-single source technology, time & attendance and payroll are fully integrated to provide cross-functionality across your company. Additionally, automated taxes and reporting are built-in to ensure you remain in compliance with all labor and tax laws, including the DOL’s new overtime rules