Greenfield restaurant cited by feds for labor violations

GREENFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – A restaurant with locations in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont had to pay back wages, withheld tips, and damages to employees for labor violations.

The U.S. Department of Labor recovered $124,000 from Tito’s Taqueria, a counter-service restaurant. According to the agency, the restaurant illegally required employees at each restaurant to share a portion of their tips with managers and did not pay workers the overtime rate of time and one-half when working over 40 hours.

The settlement included payment of $62,452 in back wages and withheld tips and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 126 employees. Tito’s Taqueria also paid the department $12,214 to resolve its violations.

“The violations by Tito’s Taqueria to shortchange workers by misusing their tips to pay managers is a problem we commonly find in the restaurant industry,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Steven McKinney in Manchester, New Hampshire. “The Fair Labor Standards Act forbids employers from keeping employees’ tips for any purpose, whether directly from customers or through a tip pool.”

The restaurants were located in Greenfield, Massachusetts, Keene, New Hampshire and Brattleboro, Vermont.

To file a wage complaint or to learn more about employee rights, contact the Department of Labor by calling 1-866-4-US-WAGE (487-9243) or go to the Wage and Hour Division website.