Florida Mexican restaurant didn’t pay earned OT or server wages, owed workers $118,000
The owners of Rosy’s Mexican Restaurant in Jacksonville are paying $118,042 in back wages and damages after getting caught not paying employees for work, the U.S. Department of Labor announced.
That money went to 10 workers, $11,804 per employee.
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Labor said Wage and Hour Division investigators found that Rosy’s management:
▪ Made servers work solely for their tips, paying not even the $6.98 per hour wages required to pay tipped employees in Florida;
▪ Didn’t pay an overtime rate of 1 1/2 regular pay for dishwashers, cooks and servers who worked more than 40 hours in a workweek;
▪ Didn’t keep payroll records that included start of shift and end of shift times or daily or weekly hours worked, making accurate pay impossible;
▪ Allowed a 15-year-old to work after 7 p.m. on a school night. This violates the child labor part of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
As for state health inspections by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Rosy’s passed a re-inspection on Nov. 16 after a Nov. 10 inspection with 11 total violations, including five High Priority violations. Among the citations were “Raw fruits/vegetables not washed prior to preparation” (cut avocados with the labels still on); “Displayed food not properly protected from contamination” (cut lemons uncovered at the waiter/waitress station); and a Stop Sale forcing the trashing of refried beans kept at an unsafe temperature.
State records say Rosy’s, 4268 Oldfield Crossing Dr., has been operated since 2005 by E & E Quezada Food Services Corp., specifically company president Ever Quezada and vice president Elsa Quezada. Messages from Miami Herald reporters for the Quezadas were not returned.
“By denying servers a cash wage and forcing them to live on tips alone and denying other workers their overtime pay, Rosy’s Mexican Restaurant made it harder for these employees, who depend on every dollar, to take care of themselves and their families,” said Wage and Hour Division District Office Director Wildalí De Jesús.
The Employment Education and Outreach alliance alerted Labor to the problems at Rosy’s, the agency said. The alliance combines various agencies and consulates from Caribbean and Latin American consulates to assist Spanish-speaking employers and workers about workplace rights. To contact the Employment Education and Outreach alliance, call 877-522-9832 or 877-552-9832 (55-AYUDA).
The Wage and Hour complaint section of Labor’s website contains information on how to file a complaint if you believe your employer has violated FLSA. Miami’s Wage and Hour Division office can be reached at 305-598-6607. The national helpline is 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).
No matter a worker’s immigration or citizenship status, he or she can speak with the department, which says it can handle calls in more than 200 languages.
