WAUKESHA, WI — A restaurant chain with four locations around the Waukesha area and beyond owes over $272,000 in back wages to its cooks, servers and other employees—around 110 in total—who were denied earned pay and tips, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Monday.
Casa Tequila, which has locations in Pewaukee, Waukesha, West Bend and Hartford, also violated several other labor regulations including child labor law by employing three minors longer than allowed, according to the DOL.
The DOL Wage and Hour Division investigated the four restaurants and determined Casa Tequila LLC, based out of Pewaukee, and its owner Maria Campuzana, operated an invalid tip pool at the Pewaukee restaurant, failed to pay overtime when required and sometimes miscalculated overtime pay, according to a news release. The restaurants owe employees $272,177 altogether in back wages, the DOL said.
According to the Department of Labor: At the Pewaukee location, 38 employees were affected and owed over $140,000 in back wages. At the location in West Bend, 22 employees are owed over $52,000. Meanwhile, 28 employees at the Waukesha location are owed over $51,000 and 22 workers at the Hartford location are owed over $28,000.
The business was one of many that benefitted from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, according to an online database published by ProPublica. Casa Tequila Restaurant LLC had $74,500 in federal loans approved April 9, 2020, which were later forgiven Aug. 19, 2021, according...
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