By Oregon Small Business Association
The U.S. Labor Department has ordered the owners of a Beaverton restaurant to pay more than $400,000 in back pay to its 39 employees.
Buffet Palace paid a flat monthly wage to its employees, no matter how many hours they worked, resulting at times in an hourly wage of $5, which is below the federal $7.25 minimum wage. The restaurant also paid no overtime for people working more than 40 hours a week, according to the Portland Business Journal.
An investigation by the Labor Department Wage and Hour Division discovered that the owners falsified payroll records.
The $417,737 judgment against Buffet Palace includes $16,000 in civil penalties.
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