A federal judge in San Jose ruled 32 employees of the Crazy Buffet in Sunnyvale must receive more than $400,000 from the Chinese restaurant in a case where they were forced to hand over their paychecks and work overtime without getting the proper compensation.
Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said Judge Ronald M. Whyte ruled in favor of the employees — who each stand to receive about $12,625 — and against the restaurant’s parent company, United Buffet Inc., and manager Zhou Ni, who were found in violation of the Fair labor Standard’s Act.
The employees were awarded about $201,000 in back pay, and then another roughly $200,000 by the judge in liquidated damages.