DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A central Iowa restaurant owner has agreed to pay nearly $834,000 to 64 employees the federal government says were not adequately paid.
The U.S. Department of Labor filed a federal lawsuit against Gloria Ochoa alleging she violated minimum wage requirements by requiring servers to cash their paychecks and return the money, in cash, back to the restaurants in addition to giving up $20 from their daily tips.
Labor officials say workers routinely worked 55 hours a week and she employed a minor outside of the work hours allowed by the federal child labor requirements.
Ochoa owns El Rodeo Mexican Restaurants in Urbandale and Clive.
She agreed to resolve the lawsuit by paying the back pay to the workers and a civil penalty.
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