Judge finds Decatur-Ill. Mexican restaurants liable for more than $1 million in back wages and damages after US Labor Department investigation
URBANA , Ill. — A federal judge in Urbana has ordered Dolores Onate, owner, and Ricardo Onate, manager, of the El Matador Inc. and El Caporal Inc. restaurants in Decatur to pay a total of $1,149,702.50 in back wages and damages to 64 workers employed as servers and kitchen staff. This judgment resolves a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor following an investigation by its Wage and Hour Division that disclosed willful violations of the minimum wage, overtime pay and record-keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act at three locations. "The defendants in this case willfully and repeatedly violated federal labor standards, including forcing their employees to repay wages in an effort to conceal their own violations," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "As a result of the Labor Department's enforcement efforts, these vulnerable workers will receive their rightful pay." The judgment requires the defendants to pay $...