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Most Common DOL Violations
Today’s news is filled with references to Federal Department of Labor audits discovering mistakes being made in our industry relative to wage and hour laws. What the headlines don’t tell you is that these violations, although very real, are due to complications and misunderstandings of the law rather than intentional acts to deprive employees of deserved wages. Given the attention that they are getting today, we asked the DOL about the most common violations that they find and here is what they said:
• Restaurants not paying overtime- all restaurants have to pay overtime once an employee goes over 40 hours. There are exemptions for very small businesses but if they accept credit cards, they are engaged in interstate commerce and must pay overtime.
• Salaried employees who are not exempt must be paid overtime. There are three levels of exemption and most restaurant workers who qualify are either professional or executive. The DOL explains the exemptions here. The professional exemption is available to chefs who have attained a four-year specialized academic degree in a culinary arts program. The learned professional exemption is not available to cooks who perform predominantly routine mental, manual, mechanical or physical work.
• Employees who work at different restaurants but are part of the same enterprise must be paid overtime. Some companies have more than one restaurant that may have different names and different Federal ID. numbers. However, if there is some common ownership they are treated as one enterprise by the DOL and overtime must be paid as if they were working in the same restaurant. Ex: a Dishwasher works forty hours in one restaurant with one name and then works 20 hours in another with a different name. If there is common ownership, even if it is not exact, this employee must be paid overtime for the 20 hours worked in the second restaurant.
• Not documenting breaks every six hours- the law says that every employee must be given a break (paid or unpaid) every six hours. These need to be documented. Employees can voluntarily waive the break but employers should document with a signed waiver. (MRA has the language available).
• Minors operating certain equipment or minors working during hours that are prohibited.
If you have any questions about any of these regulations, please email Jessica Muradian.
Most Common DOL Violations
Today’s news is filled with references to Federal Department of Labor audits discovering mistakes being made in our industry relative to wage and hour laws. What the headlines don’t tell you is that these violations, although very real, are due to complications and misunderstandings of the law rather than intentional acts to deprive employees of deserved wages. Given the attention that they are getting today, we asked the DOL about the most common violations that they find and here is what they said:
• Restaurants not paying overtime- all restaurants have to pay overtime once an employee goes over 40 hours. There are exemptions for very small businesses but if they accept credit cards, they are engaged in interstate commerce and must pay overtime.
• Salaried employees who are not exempt must be paid overtime. There are three levels of exemption and most restaurant workers who qualify are either professional or executive. The DOL explains the exemptions here. The professional exemption is available to chefs who have attained a four-year specialized academic degree in a culinary arts program. The learned professional exemption is not available to cooks who perform predominantly routine mental, manual, mechanical or physical work.
• Employees who work at different restaurants but are part of the same enterprise must be paid overtime. Some companies have more than one restaurant that may have different names and different Federal ID. numbers. However, if there is some common ownership they are treated as one enterprise by the DOL and overtime must be paid as if they were working in the same restaurant. Ex: a Dishwasher works forty hours in one restaurant with one name and then works 20 hours in another with a different name. If there is common ownership, even if it is not exact, this employee must be paid overtime for the 20 hours worked in the second restaurant.
• Not documenting breaks every six hours- the law says that every employee must be given a break (paid or unpaid) every six hours. These need to be documented. Employees can voluntarily waive the break but employers should document with a signed waiver. (MRA has the language available).
• Minors operating certain equipment or minors working during hours that are prohibited.
If you have any questions about any of these regulations, please email Jessica Muradian.