Federal Court Orders Fusion Steakhouse Owners To Pay $1.45M To Current, Former Workers
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PITTSBURGH - A federal court has orded three restaurants - including one at The Highlands in Triadelphia - and their owners to pay $1.45 million after investigators found they paid back-of-the-house employees off-the-books salaries for all hours worked and denied them overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.
The judgment, entered in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on March 16, requires Fusion Japanese Steakhouse Inc. in Washington, Pennsylvania; Fusion Japanese Steakhouse Inc. in Vienna; and Z&S International Cuisine Inc., operating as Fusion Japanese Steakhouse of Wheeling in Triadelphia, and owners Yuan Zheng Xiao and Christine Xiao, to pay $1.45 million - $725,000 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages - to 116 current and former workers.
The department also assessed the restaurants and their owners $76,724 in civil money penalties for the willful nature of their violations. The employers' pay practices and failure to maintain records of hours worked violated the Fair Labor Standards Act. In addition to the back wages and damages, the judgment prohibits the employers from future FLSA violations.
On three prior occasions - following investigations in 2012, 2011 and 2010 - the restaurants and owner Yuan Zheng Xiao have paid back wages to workers after violations of the FLSA's minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping provisions were discovered.
"This legal action recovers the workers' hard-earned wages and sends a strong message to other restaurant employers that violations come at a high cost," said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. "The U.S. Department of Labor is prepared to use every tool available, including litigation, to prevent employers from depriving workers of their wages."
"Wage theft is illegal, it harms workers and their families, and undercuts responsible employers who abide by the law," said Acting Wage and Hour Division Administrator Jessica Looman. "This sizeable judgment on behalf of restaurant workers demonstrates the Department of Labor's commitment to protecting these essential workers."
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