Labor Dept. sues 3 restaurants over wages, overtime

Three Chinese-buffet restaurants are in hot water with the U.S. Department of Labor for allegedly paying employees less than the federal minimum wage and not paying overtime.

The department's Wage and Hour Division is suing two Everett-based companies, Super China Buffet, whose restaurant is in Shoreline, and Great Dragon Inc., which runs King Buffet restaurants in Everett and Marysville, for minimum-wage, overtime and record-keeping violations. The Labor Department filed the case in U.S. District Court in Seattle, seeking unspecified back wages for employees and an agreement for future compliance with the law, said assistant district director Rusty Murphy.

Investigations of the restaurants found that many of the restaurant employees — Murphy estimates about 30 — "were paid in cash off the record, and that time and pay records were nonexistent, inaccurate, incomplete or falsified," according to a Labor Department news release Tuesday.

Some waiters were paid as little as $10 a day, many working more than 40 hours a week, while kitchen staffers who worked more than 40 hours were paid a straight monthly salary with no overtime.

An employee reached by phone at the Super China Buffet declined to discuss the suit or refer the matter to the owner. A man answering at Great Dragon said the business is under new ownership. Murphy said the Labor Department's investigation dates back several years and that an ownership change wouldn't relieve a previous owner of liability.

How common are such violations among businesses with largely immigrant staffs? "It's not uncommon," Murphy said. "Folks that are of an immigrant population are at great risk of not being paid in compliance with the law."

Washington's 2010 minimum wage is $8.55 per hour. The Fair Labor Standards Act dictates a federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour and time-and-a-half for anything more than a 40-hour workweek. In states that set rates that differ from federal law, the higher rate applies.

Under federal law, when workers make more than $30 a month in tips, employers can pay $2.13 an hour if tips cover the difference. The law requires employers to keep accurate time and payroll records. State law doesn't allow tips to be considered part of minimum wage.

Murphy said the department is suing the two restaurant businesses because it couldn't get them to come to an agreement. And, he said, "Our purpose in publicizing this is to make sure folks working in the restaurant industry are aware of their rights to a minimum wage and overtime pay."