Florida pizza joint owed servers $120,000 after not paying cash wages or for overtime
Owners of an Orlando Giordano’s Pizza had to pony up $125,695 after an investigation found they didn’t pay servers overtime pay or cash wages at all, the U.S. Department of Labor announced.
Both actions resulted in violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). That money went to 24 servers at the Giordano’s at 6203 W. Sand Lake Rd., about two miles down Interstate 4 from Universal Studios. At an average of $5,237.29 per employee and at the $1,705 that Rent.com says is the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Orlando, the average server had been shorted about three months of rent.
“The operator of this Giordano’s franchise deprived employees of their rightful pay, making it much harder for them to support themselves,” Wage and Hour Division District Director Wildalí De Jesús said.
The Department of Labor says this Giordano’s is owned by Sand Lake Pizzeria Inc. State records say Sand Lake Pizzeria is managed by Sand Lake Management & Consultants, which state and Orange County records say Hayssam Elkoussa and Haifa Elkoussa run out of their five-bedroom, 3 1/2-bathroom, 3,653-square foot house in suburban Orlando.
Restaurant management didn’t answer messages from the Miami Herald and the Elkoussas couldn’t be reached..
Labor says Wage and Hour Division investigators found not only did the servers not get paid time and a half for overtime, an FLSA requirement, their entire pay came from tips. Federal law allows as little as $2.13 per hour for tipped employees, but the combination of that plus tips must at least equal federal $7.25 minimum wage. In Florida, tipped workers must be paid a minimum of $7.98 per hour.
Neither state nor federal laws allow no cash wages for tip-receiving employees.
Labor said: “The employer told [Wage and Hour] they contracted a third-party service provider to manage payroll functions and claimed the provider did not raise concerns about the employer’s pay practices.”
DeJesus said that’s not an excuse because when it comes to paying employees properly, the buck stops at the employer.
Employers with questions about complying with FLSA, FMLA or other federal laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division can consult that part of the Department of Labor website.
Employees who have questions about their rights under various federal laws can consult the employee resource section of the website. To file a Wage and Hour complaint, either go online, call your local office or find the location and go in person.
