GRAND RAPIDS, MI — The U.S. Department of Labor says it has recovered $64,412 in back wages and damages for 20 workers at Tacos el Cunado on Alpine Avenue who weren’t paid overtime after working more than 40 hours a week.

Restaurant owner Jessica Lopez also failed to pay minimum wage to one server, the department said in a news release.

“The failure to pay overtime wages is far too common in the restaurant industry, particularly among vulnerable employees who may not understand their rights to overtime,” said Mary O’Rourke, district director of the wage and hour division at the U.S. Department of Labor.

A consent order from U.S District Court Judge Robert Jonker says Lopez violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and ordered her to repay $31,206 in back wages and “an equal amount in liquidated damages to the restaurant’s affected current and former employees.”

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employees be paid minimum wage and overtime pay of 1.5 times their regular wages.

Investigators from the department reviewed the restaurant’s records between Aug. 13, 2020, and Aug. 12, 2022. Officials also found Lopez failed to keep adequate pay records.

Tacos el Cundao Alpine is located at 2751 Alpine Ave. NW. in Walker.

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