Iowa Restaurant Pays Back Wages After Failing to Pay 14 Employees for Payroll Earned Before Coronavirus Closing

DES MOINES, IA – BAH Brazilian Steakhouse has paid 14 employees $3,059 in back wages after the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found the Des Moines, Iowa, restaurant failed to pay employees for the last payroll period worked prior to the restaurant’s closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Investigators found the company violated the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by not issuing payroll. The restaurant initially posted a sign telling employees and customers they had closed permanently, but later amended it to say they were closing temporarily due to the pandemic.

“Even during this difficult time, the Wage and Hour Division is working to ensure employers comply with federal law so that every employee receives the wages they have rightfully earned,” said Wage and Hour District Director Marcy Boldman in Des Moines, Iowa. “In these unprecedented times for employers and employees alike, many businesses have closed their doors or seen their business decline. If employees performed work for their employer, the employer is still legally obligated to pay those employees on payday.”

The department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos and confidential calls to local WHD offices.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division – including the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) – contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers that discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program.

WHD’s mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation’s workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services. Information is available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.