More than three dozen people who worked at a Mexican restaurant chain in State College are owed nearly $600,000 after the business admitted to flouting labor laws, the Labor Department said Thursday.
Plaza Azteca — which operates Plaza Mexican Bar and Grill at 1550 S. Atherton St. — denied minimum and overtime wages to 1,320 workers at more than 40 locations. That includes 41 people who worked at the State College location.
The business will pay $11.4 million in back wages and penalties. A message left with Plaza Azteca’s lead attorney was not immediately returned Thursday.
“Our investigators found Plaza Azteca knew of its legal obligations to pay workers minimum wage and overtime and keep accurate payroll records and yet, willfully disregarded federal law,” Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman said in a statement. “... The court’s action in this case is an important step in our efforts to make a meaningful difference in the lives of these workers by recovering their hard-earned wages.”
Plaza Azteca restaurants paid back-of-the-house workers predetermined amounts. By doing so, the business failed to pay some employees the required minimum wage and did not pay others time-and-a-half when they exceeded 40 hours worked in a week.
Plaza Azteca also failed to maintain accurate records of employees’ work hours and wages as required. The Labor Department described the violations as repeated and willful.
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