Workers got a pretty raw deal at Dolores Onate’s two Mexican restaurants in Decatur, Ill. Not only were the waiters and kitchen workers stiffed on overtime and minimum-wage requirements, they were actually forced to pay their wages back directly to Onate, according to a federal court case decided this month.
Due to violations of fair labor laws, Dolores Onate and her restaurants’ manager, brother Ricardo Onate, have been ordered to pay a whopping $1.15 million in back pay and damages to 64 workers — an unusually high penalty for a small-business restaurateur.
“It really took a lot of gall for an employer to request that money be returned,” labor department spokesman Scott Allen told the Huffington Post. “It’s absolutely unacceptable. That’s why the penalty was as severe as it was.”