CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The owners of six restaurants in West Virginia and Ohio will have to pay more than $110,000 in back wages and damages to employees after U.S. Department of Labor investigators found multiple labor violations.
U.S. District Judge John Copenhaver ruled on June 6 that Lorena and Martin Arellano, the owners of Las Trancas Inc., violated requirements regarding minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping.
The order involves 27 employees across four Las Trancas restaurants and a Plaza Maya establishment in West Virginia and a Las Trancas establishment in Ohio.
The Las Trancas restaurants are located in Charleston, Buckhannon, Ripley and Marietta, Ohio. The Plaza Maya establishment is in Charleston.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, some employees were only paid for their scheduled hours, failing to be paid overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek but fewer than 80 hours over a two-week period. Investigators found severs were paid on salary when they filled in for a manager, but extra hours and money were not considered when calculating how much employees were owed for overtime.
The Arellanos will have to pay $11,024 in back wages and damages, as well as a $20,150 civil money penalty.