Taco Bell employees working at an Iowa location were shorted pay as a general manager deducted hours from their timecards, according to federal authorities.

Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that the manager manipulated 12 workers’ timecards, according to an April 12 news release. Then the manager submitted the incorrect timecards to Taco Bell’s corporate office for processing, authorities said.

The 12 fast-food workers in Spencer were employed by Haza Bell of Nebraska LLC, which operates as Taco Bell, authorities said. Together, they were shorted $11,372 in wages.

Now, the federal department said it has recovered $22,744 for the employees — the full $11,372 in back wages plus “an equal amount in liquidated damages.”

McClatchy News reached out to Haza Bell of Nebraska and Taco Bell for comment and is awaiting a response.

“This case shows the costly consequence of totaling hours worked incorrectly,” Wage and Hour District Director Marietta Taylor said in the release. “Employers must maintain accurate records of hours worked in order to pay employees what the law requires. When they fail to do so, they often deny hard-working employees all of the wages that they are due.”

Spencer is in the northwest corner of Iowa.

Haza Bell of Nebraska operates 140 restaurants with over 4,000 employees, according to its website. The franchisee has 17 Taco Bell restaurants in Iowa.

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiS2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmthbnNhc2NpdHkuY29t...