BLOOMINGTON — Two Indiana restaurants will have to pay more than $150,000 in back wages and damages after an investigation showed they underpaid 12 employees.
The two Bloomington restaurants, Restaurant Ami and Toto’s Uncle, are owned by Ji Enterprises.
Ji Enterprises must pay $81,127 in back wages, and an equal amount in damages after investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Hour Division found the following violations, according to a news release:
- The restaurants paid employees $7 per hour during training, instead of the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
- Employees who worked overtime didn’t get the required one-and-one-half times their hourly rate.
- The employer failed to accurately record the number of hours worked.
“This investigation found a significant amount of back wages due and demonstrates the U.S. Department of Labor’s commitment to ensure employees receive all the wages they have legally earned,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Patricia Lewis, according to the release. “We encourage employers to make use of the many tools the Division provides to help them understand their obligations, and to contact us for assistance.”
Ji Enterprises will pay 10 employees of Restaurant Ami a total of $148,367 and two employees of Toto’s Uncle a total of $13,887, representing both back wages and damages.
