Lyons Group, operator of numerous Boston-area restaurants, and its owners have agreed to pay $424,000, including $212,000 in back wages plus double damages, to 409 employees to resolve alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
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Get Your Report Now!Investigators from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found that employees of 15 Lyons Group restaurants were not properly paid for all work hours. Many were paid straight time for overtime hours, the WHD determined. The bulk of the underpayments affected kitchen staff, who were paid by Superbrite Professional Cleaning, a subcontractor later known as Excel Management.
“The use of contract labor providers in the restaurant industry has increased over the past several years, along with violations,” said George Rioux, WHD district director. “Employers have a choice. Put these workers on payroll or ensure their labor providers are paying their employees in compliance with the FLSA.”
As part of the settlement, Lyons Group members agreed to conduct mutual FLSA audits, including developing a software program to detect employees who work in two or more Lyons Group restaurants in the same week, and to publish a warning for fellow restaurant owners regarding the risks of using contract labor providers who violate the FLSA.