BRADENTON BEACH, FL – A federal investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $60,065 in back wages and liquidated damages for a former employee of a Bradenton Beach restaurant that forced them back to work the same day of their hospital discharge — despite doctor’s orders not to do so for three days — and terminated their employment less than a week later.
Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found The Wicked Taco Inc. – operating as Wicked Cantina – did not notify the worker of their rights to, and their ability to use protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act because of their medical situation.
Division investigators learned that after a brief hospitalization, the hospital released the worker on March 1, 2020, with instructions not to resume work duties until March 4, 2020. The day of their release, the employee went to Wicked Cantina to give a copy of the doctor’s orders to the restaurant’s general manager. The employee was instructed to work regardless of the doctor’s orders. The employer never brought up that the worker could use FMLA-protected leave and did not provide notification of the employee’s FMLA rights or provide the required forms or notifications.
On March 6, 2020, the restaurant’s general manager terminated the employee for alleged excessive tardiness and allegedly spreading rumors among co-workers about the management.
The department obtained a consent judgment on March 3,...
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