The owner of three Juan’s Flaming Fajitas & Cantina restaurants in the valley has been fined nearly $500,000 for labor violations.
The restaurant improperly withheld overtime pay, and two employees were incorrectly exempted from overtime pay, according to a U.S. Department of Labor press release.
Both of those were in violation of the Fair Labor and Standards Act.
There are two Juan’s Flaming Fajitas & Cantina locations in Las Vegas and one in Henderson.
For the 32 employees who worked at more than one location, their hours were not combined, the press release stated.
All these violations amounted to $237,692 in back wages, $237,692 in liquidated damages, and $12,050 in civil penalties for the restaurant, the department said.
“Our investigators found Juan’s Flaming Fajitas & Cantina deliberately withheld overtime pay earned by dozens of hard-working employees,” Gene Ramos, a wage and hour division district director, said in the release.
Ramos also stated that these types of violations are commonly found in food service industry investigations.
Contact Annie Vong at avong@reviewjournal.com.