Popular Wisconsin Restaurant Chain Guilty Of Underpaying Staff

The food industry is a popular sector for workers in the United States and its popularity is growing.

Studies have shown that the restaurant and food service industry is the second-largest private-sector employer in the United States. The industry employed 12.35 million people as of July 2024 and it is projected to add 1.2 million jobs by 2032.

Unfortunately, with an industry that booming, there are cases when workers are not treated fairly, and the authorities need to intervene.

The U.S. Department of Labor reports that in fiscal year 2023, the Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $29 million in back wages for nearly 26,000 food service industry workers nationwide.

One such event recently happened in Wisconsin, and now nearly 30 workers will be receiving significant back wages.

Back Wages Recovered For Employees Of Popular Chicken Restaurant Chain

The U.S. Department of Labor reports that following its investigation, a federal court had recently ordered the operators of four Milwaukee-area chicken franchise restaurants to pay $442,140 to 29 employees.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin directed Chicken Palace LLC restaurants and Valdemar Escobar, owner of two Milwaukee locations and two in Kenosha and Waukesha, to pay $221,070 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to the affected workers, plus a civil penalty of $10,000 to the department for its willful Fair Labor Standards Act violations.

The action comes after the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that from March 7, 2021, through March 8, 2023, the employer violated federal regulations by doing the following:

Paying employees straight-time pay rates for overtime hours over 40 in a workweek.
Failing to pay employees the required minimum wage.
Failing to maintain complete and accurate time records, as required.

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In addition to paying back wages, damages, and penalties, Chicken Palace LLC and Escobar agreed to provide employees the Wage and Hour Division’s Handy Reference Guide to the Fair Labor Standards Act and other information on their federal wage protections in the languages employees speak.

The restaurants and Escobar also agreed to an injunction prohibiting future FLSA violations.

The family-owned Fiesta Garibaldi Restaurant Group owns the Chicken Palace Fiesta Garibaldi brand. In addition to its chicken franchise, the company has seven restaurants operating as Fat Valdy’s, Fiesta Café, and Fiesta Garibaldi Mexican Grill in Milwaukee, Kenosha, and Waukesha.

However, it's important to note that only the four Chicken Palace restaurants are involved in this consent judgment.

This Type Of Violation Is Far Too Common Within The Industry

Wage and Hour Division District Director Kristin Tout, who's based in Minneapolis, notes that far too often, their food service industry investigations find employers violating federal overtime, minimum wage, and recordkeeping regulations.

Workers are often unaware of their rights and are afraid to question the accuracy of their paychecks. Tout adds the "Department of Labor will continue to hold employers accountable while making sure every worker is paid what they rightfully earned.”

Regional Solicitor Christine Z. Heri adds that "Failing to pay workers their required wages hurts employees and results in the entire restaurant community facing unfair competition.”

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The Department of Labor says this outcome, and others like it, continue to prove it will appropriate action, including litigation, to protect workers who are denied their pay.

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17 Things You Must Never Flush Down Your Toilet In Minnesota Or Wisconsin

Having to call someone for home repairs is never fun and the costs that are associated with those calls always seem more than we expect and they come at the worst times.

A common call people make is to plumbers, and many of those issues happen in the bathroom. If you have kids, who may not know exactly what goes in the toilet, there's a good chance they've flushed something down that caused problems your plunger couldn't fix.

However, you don't need kids to have those issues because everyone can get confused about what can safely be flushed down the toilet. A key thing to remember is that toilet paper breaks down in water and rarely causes a blockage, but anything else could lead to you calling a plumber for help.

Even if they don't clog your toilet, 17 specific things have a good chance of getting caught in the machinery of your city's wastewater treatment plant. Repairs are costly on this machinery so it's vital that you NOT flush the following items to protect your plumbing and to help save your city's time and resources.

Gallery Credit: David Drew