More than $900,000 due to CT restaurant workers in federal wage and hour case

The U.S. Department of Labor recovered $11.4 million in “back wages and liquidated damages” for more than 1,000 employees of an East Coast restaurant chain, including $922,592 for more than 60 Connecticut workers, according to federal authorities.

The recovery occurred after a “series of investigations and litigation by the department,” according to federal authorities.

In Connecticut, federal authorities said, this included:

• A total of $162,508 in back wages and liquidated damages are due to 13 employees who worked at the Plaza Azteca location at 39 Hazard Ave., Enfield.
• A total of $288,988 in back wages and liquidated damages are due to 29 employees who worked at the Plaza Azteca location at 170 Slater St.,  Manchester.
• A total of $471,096 in back wages and liquidated damages are due to 22 employees who worked at the Plaza Azteca location at 3260 Berlin Turnpike, Newington.

The back wages and liquidated damages cover from March 10, 2016 to Sept. 21, 2021, according to federal authorities.

Authorities said a consent judgment entered by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Norfolk resolved litigation by the department’s Office of the Solicitor related to pay practices at “more than 40 Plaza Azteca Mexican restaurant locations owned by Ruben Leon in seven states.”

The department’s alleged Leon and the restaurants violated overtime and minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to federal authorities.

“The employers agreed to the consent judgment after months of litigation and just before a jury trial was scheduled to begin,” federal authorities said in a statement. The lawsuit included Plaza Azteca locations in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

“Our investigators found Plaza Azteca knew of its legal obligations to pay workers minimum wage and overtime and keep accurate payroll records and yet, willfully disregarded federal law,” said Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman, in the statement. “The employers failed to pay full wages to more than 1,000 employees. The court’s action in this case is an important step in our efforts to make a meaningful difference in the lives of these workers by recovering their hard-earned wages.”

Authorities said the department alleged that “numerous Plaza Azteca Mexican restaurants paid back-of-the-house employees predetermined amounts. By doing so, the employers failed to pay some employees who worked up to 40 hours in a workweek the required minimum wage and did not pay some employees time-and-a-half for hours over 40 in a workweek. The employers also failed to maintain accurate records of employees’ work hours and wages, as required.”

The consent judgment also recovered $625,000 in civil money penalties from the employers, federal authorities said.

“This outcome sends a strong message to other restaurant industry employers of the costly consequences that can occur when they deprive employees of their full and rightful wages,​” said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. “As we did in this case, the U.S. Department of Labor will strategically deploy our investigative and litigation resources to remedy systemic violations of the law at a national scale across an enterprise’s locations.”

Authorities said the back wages and liquidated damages are “due to certain current and former employees of Plaza Azteca restaurants regardless of immigration status,” and that because some of the workers may have relocated, the Wage and Hour Division asks former or current affected employees to contact the division at 215-861-5180 with any questions.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).