Court also requires payment of $47K in penalties by Taqueria Moroleon, owner

AVONDALE, PA – A federal court has approved a consent judgment ordering a Southeast Pennsylvania restaurant to pay a total of $193,817 to 68 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found the employer denied all of the wages owed them by law.

The action by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania follows the determination by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that Taqueria Moroleon Inc., operating as Taqueria Moroleon in Avondale, and owner Isidro Rodriquez failed to pay some tipped employees a cash wage, did not compensate some employees for training and meeting time, and paid employees straight time for all hours worked.

Investigators also found the employer failed to maintain complete time and payroll records and did not record some cash payments for wages. The division assessed a $47,235 civil money penalty for their Fair Labor Standards Act violations.

“Regrettably, for many restaurant industry workers, these types of minimum wage and overtime violations are not unusual,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director James Cain in Philadelphia. “This enforcement action will help ensure these workers – people who depend on every dollar to make ends meet – receive all of their hard-earned wages and hold their employer accountable for violating the law.”

In addition to recovering $96,908 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages for the...

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