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Feds recover $102K in tips, back wages, damages from restaurants in South Portland, Brunswick, Gorham

The three restaurants denied fair tips, overtime wages, and liquidated damages from employees, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

PORTLAND, Maine — The federal government has recovered $102,000 in tips, back wages, and liquidated damages illegally withheld from Maine restaurant workers by their employers.

The U.S. Department of Labor recovered the money from El Grand Rodeo, which operates El Rodeo in South Portland, El Rodeo Brunswick LLC in Brunswick, and Azul Tequila LLC in Gorham, the Department of Labor said in a release.

More than $51,000 was recovered in tips and back wages, and an equal amount in liquidated damages was withheld from 25 workers.

The restaurants failed to combine the hours of employees working at more than one location when calculating overtime each week, the release said. In addition, Azul Tequila in Gorham improperly diverted tip pool monies to a part owner and a manager and failed to pay overtime to one non-exempt salaried employee.

Federal law prohibits employers, managers, and supervisors from keeping employee tips, including pooled tips.

“The overtime and tip-related violations found in these investigations are all-too-common in the food service industry,” Wage and Hour District Director Steven McKinney said in the release. “Workers who rely on tips depend on them to supplement their hourly wages to make ends meet. Employers who deprive workers money they earn may face costly consequences when they violate the law.”

The Wage and Hour Division recovered nearly $38 million in back wages for 29,209 food service industry workers in the fiscal year 2021, the government said.

Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) to ask questions confidentially, regardless of immigration status, the release said. The department can interact with callers in more than 200 languages.

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