Two Florida Restaurants ordered to pay 30 Employees over $900,000 for minimum wage, overtime pay and record keeping violations

Two  Florida restaurants and their owners have been ordered to pay 30 employees $934,425.   The agreements resolved a lawsuit that alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage, overtime pay and record-keeping provisions.

The investigation found that the kitchen employees were improperly classified as exempt from overtime pay and therefore did not get paid for overtime hours they worked (hours over 40 in one week).  Employees were paid tips and received a paycheck that together equaled minimum wage but management required the workers to sign back over the paychecks to the restaurant.  Ultimately the workers only got paid the tips and not minimum wage.  Lastly the lawsuit alleged the restaurants did not keep accurate records of how much employee worked.

All workers should be treated fairly.  If you feel you have been a victim of unpaid overtime or other Fair Labor Standards Acts violations at your workplace contact our employment lawyers at  877-858-2977 for a free, confidential consultation or visit our website.

You should act quickly to preserve your rights. The overtime law has a two-year statute of limitations for the recovery of back pay. The Fair Labor Standards Act, or overtime statute, does have a three-year statute of limitations in situations where it can be established that the employer willfully violated the statute by failing to pay an employee overtime pay.

Source: http://www.dol.gov/whd/media/press/whdpressVB3.asp?pressdoc=Southeast/20110818.xml

Sexual Harassment, Retaliation Lawsuit

A sexual harassment settlement for over $500,000 was reached this week by the EEOC involving a lawsuit against an acute care facility.   The sexual harassment lawsuit was originally filed in 2010 concerning reports that a male emergency room staff member sexually harassed female employees at the hospital by having graphic discussions of sexual activities, having touched them inappropriately, propositioned them for sex, and engaged in other inappropriate behavior.

According to the EEOC several female victims were retaliated against and others quit to avoid being in this hostile environment after complaining of sexual harassment to management.  Hospital management ignored the complaints and did not fire the offending staff member until 2009, nearly two years after the first complaints were reported.

No employee should be subject to such conduct at their place of work. If you feel you have been a victim of sexual harassment at your workplace contact our sexual harassment lawyers at 877-858-2977 for a free, confidential consultation or visit our website.

It is critical for the victim of sexual harassment to maintain copies of the complaints made to the employer as well as notes from any meeting with the employer or human resources department. Emails and text messages are vital evidence in many of these cases.

Source http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/11-16-11b.cfm

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Welcome to the Law Offices of Hoffman & Hoffman P.A. firm blog

Welcome to the Law Offices of Hoffman & Hoffman P.A. firm blog. Our firm is comprised of Divorce, Family Law, Estate Planning, Probate, Employment Law, Condo Law, Aviation Law and Litigation lawyers. The lawyers at the Law Offices of Hoffman & Hoffman P.A. have experience handling and litigating tough cases in the state of Florida including probate litigation such as will contests, divorce matters ranging from simplified divorce to child-support modifications, condominium deposit and condominium leak disputes, employment matters including sexual harassment cases, whistleblower complaints and over time lawsuits. We have offices in Miami, Naples, Michigan and the Florida Keys.