Senor Fish Forgot About Overtime, Must Pay $90,000 in Back Wages, Damages

Senor Fish / Facebook

But while the restaurant chain seems to grace its tortillas with ample fillings, the pockets of its employees have not been properly stuffed, federal authorities announced this week.

The U.S. Department of Labor says Senor Fish will pay nearly $90,000 to 74 current and former workers after the five-location, L.A.-area chain shortchanged them for overtime and, in some cases, paid them in cash without keeping records of it:

The department announced yesterday that it has reached an agreement with Senor Fish that will have the restaurant pay $56,777 in back wages and $33,154 in "liquidated damages" to the employees.

The Wage and Hour Division of the department found out about the violations through its "Employment Education and Outreach partnership" (EMPLEO), which lets Spanish-speaking workers know about the law (and how to drop a dime).

Javier Cabral

Mmm, overtime.

Federal authorities say those Senor Fish workers were not pad time-and-a-half after they had already worked a 40-hour week: Rather, they got "straight time" pay regardless of how many hours they worked.

As part of the deal, Fish has agreed to computerize its timekeeping, undergo training regarding federal work rules and direct employees to labor law info online.

Priscilla Garcia, director of the division's West Covina District Office:

We want to send a message to those employers in violation of the law that they cannot run their businesses at the expense of their employees' pay.

So take that, every restaurant that employs a dishwasher.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]