“…(the restaurant) owners are individually and jointly responsible for $108,200 in civil penalties, as well as $373,613 owed to their workers in unpaid minimum wages, overtime pay, rest period, and split-shift premiums…Workers were not paid the state-mandated minimum wage for 
hours worked or the one-and-a-half regular rate of pay for overtime hours. Rather, the owners paid in cash: $45 per day for servers and between $75 and $120 for kitchen staff…”
“…The pay rate was further inadequate because it did not reflect the “split-shift” premium, as is required when employees work two or more shifts in a workday with an unpaid break of more than an hour. Workers were not allowed to leave the premises before 2:30 each afternoon when business was closed to the public, and then reported back at 4:30 p.m. for several more hours of work. The investigation also revealed that employers had not kept time records prior to September 1, 2013, or provided staff with itemized wage statements….”
California Labor Commissioner Julie A. Su issued to the owners of a restaurant in Alameda citations totaling $481,813 The citations consisted of civil penalties and wages owed to 13 employees for violation of minimum wage, overtime, and rest period laws. The Labor Commissioner’s joint inspection with the Employment Development Department (EDD) was based on complaints filed in August. The investigation revealed that the cooks, dishwashers, kitchen helpers, and servers employed by Toomie’s Thai Cuisine routinely worked at least 10.5 hours each day, up to 7 days a week.
“The Labor Commissioner is charged with ensuring that employees are paid for all wages they are owed,” affirmed Christine Baker, director of the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). The Labor Commissioner’s Office, also known as the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), is a division within the DIR.
Labor Commissioner Su stated, “We want to create a culture of compliance where employers profit by playing by the rules and employers who have concluded that it is cheaper to break the law, that the chances of getting caught are slim, and the costs even if you do get caught are minimal know that those days are over.”
Additional information on labor laws and work-related topics are available on the DIR website at http://www.dir.ca.gov.
