CHICAGO - An Illinois-based pizzeria chain owes its employees over $180,000 in back wages and damages after federal investigators determined the owner had violated labor laws for the second time in six years.
An investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor found Sarpino's Pizzeria owner, Julius Jokimas, owed $188,628 to 104 employees at three locations in Chicago, the agency said in a press release Monday.
After Jokimas refused to cooperate, investigators with the agency's Wage and Hour Division obtained a subpoena to look at employees' pay records.
Investigators found three Saprinos' locations misclassified delivery drivers as independent contractors in order to sidestep paying them overtime when they worked more than 40 hours per week, the agency said. It was also determined the pizzeria failed to pay some of its managers and cooks overtime wages.
"Misclassification of workers as independent contractors is a common violation," according to Thomas Gauza, district director of the Wage and Hour Division in Chicago. "It denies wages for workers who earned overtime, cheats taxpayers out of payroll taxes, and allows the employer to undercut competitors who operate in compliance with the law."
Investigators were able to recover $94,314 in back wages from the following Sarpinos' locations:
In addition to the back wages...
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