Pewaukee-based
Casa Tequila LLC, the operator of four Mexican restaurants in Pewaukee, Hartford, West Bend and Waukesha, has failed to pay 110 employees $272,177 in back wages. An investigation led by the U.S. Department of Labor also found the company employed three minors who worked later than allowed by law.
The investigation determined
Maria Campuzano, owner of Casa Tequila LLC, not only operated an invalid tip pool at the Pewaukee restaurant, but also failed to pay the proper overtime rate of pay and miscalculated the overtime wages due to some employees. The company also paid straight-time rates instead of time and a half to employees who worked over 40 hours a week.
The investigation also covered Campuzano's restaurants in Hartford, Waukesha and West Bend.
A press release from the Department of Labor states $140,071 in back wages is owed to employees of the Pewaukee restaurant, $52,398 is owed to West Bend employees; $51,338 is owed to Waukesha employees and $28,370 is owed to Hartford employees.
Casa Tequila has also been fined $2,373 as civil penalty for the company’s violations of child labor laws. Three children between the ages of 14 and 15 were found to have worked past 9 p.m. and for more than eight hours at the West Bend and Waukesha locations.
“Violations like those found in our investigation of Casa Tequila are all too common in the food service industry,” said Kristin Tout, district director of the wage and hour division in Minneapolis. “Restaurants often employ people unfamiliar with their legal rights and protections as workers and who may be fearful about raising or reporting their concerns.”
