Four Long Island, New York, restaurant and catering establishments and their
corporate officers have agreed to pay a total of $1,045,000 in back wages, interest,
and penalties to settle a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit accusing them of
violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
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Download NowThe department accused the Water Mill Restaurant in Smithtown, Westbury Manor
in Westbury, Fox Hollow in Woodbury, and Chateau Briand in Carle Place of violating
the minimum wage, overtime-pay, record-keeping, and youth employment requirements
of the FLSA.
The department's Wage and Hour Division alleged that nearly 2,000 current and
former low-wage employees in these establishments, primarily kitchen and wait
staff, were required to work long hours each week, for which they were not paid
the federal minimum wage or proper overtime compensation. The department also
accused the establishments of failing to maintain adequate and accurate records
of their employees' wages, hours, and other conditions of employment.
While the companies agreed to settle the lawsuit, they admitted no wrongdoing.
A consent judgment, signed by U.S. District Judge Leonard D. Wexler on August
31, 2005, orders payment of $972,000, plus interest, in back minimum wage and
overtime pay. It also requires the defendants to pay a civil money penalty of
$69,000 to the Labor Department and $4,000 to an employee alleged to have been
retaliated against for cooperating with the department's investigation. Finally,
the defendants are required to retain an independent monitor at their own expense
to check and report to the U.S. Department of Labor on their compliance with
the FLSA over the next two years.