Four Minneapolis restaurants have been charged $105,784 in labor fines for breaching employment laws.
The locations are jointly owned enterprises named Boludo El 38, Boludo Downtown, Boludo Uptown, and Boludo Como. Federal work and overtime regulators have rigorously investigated them.
The Department of Labor intervened to resolve the overtime, back wages, and staff rights violations, including terminating a staff member who cooperated with investigators to resolve the breaches.
Minneapolis restaurants to pay $105,784
Regarding the Minneapolis case, Wage and Hour Division District Director Kristin Tout said, “Retaliating against workers who engage in protected activities, such as cooperating with a federal investigation, is a blatant violation of the law that we will not tolerate.”
The four entities are jointly owned by Jerad Rassmussen and Facundo Defraia under the name Boludo Holding Co., according to the Department of Labor report. They are in breach of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime provisions.
“Too often, our investigations in the food service industry find employers violating federal overtime, minimum wage and recordkeeping regulations, while workers remain unaware of their rights or afraid to question whether their paychecks are accurate,” said Tout.
The company and owners were adjudged to have “deprived 51 employees of $44,915 in earned overtime wages at Boludo El 38, Boludo Downtown, Boludo Uptown and Boludo Como, and terminated one worker at its Uptown restaurant after they spoke with investigators.”
This rigorous investigation into Midwest company owners has resulted in a bill of $44,915 in back wages, which must be matched as an equal amount for liquidated damages. This brings the overall bill to $89,830. The federal employment regulators also fined the company $15,954 in civil money for “child labor and tip retention violation.”
District Director Tout concluded, “The Department of Labor remains firmly committed to protecting workers against retaliation and ensuring they are paid fully for their hours worked.”
Image: Pexels.
