U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Finds Granite Falls, North Carolina, Restaurant Violated Federal Wage and Child Labor Laws

GRANITE FALLS, NC – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Granite Falls Seafood Inc. – operating as Captain’s Galley Seafood Restaurant – will pay $21,974 in back wages and liquidated damages to eight employees for violating minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The employer also paid a civil penalty of $1,751 for FLSA child labor violations.

WHD investigators determined the Granite Falls, North Carolina, employer violated minimum wage requirements when it paid a tipped-employee a cash wage which, when combined with tips, failed to meet the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. WHD also found the employer’s practice of paying overtime only when an employee performed more than 80 hours of work in two workweeks - instead of paying time-and-one-half after 40 hours in a single workweek as the law requires - led Captain’s Galley to fail to pay overtime to some employees.

The employer also employed two minors outside of the hours legally allowed for workers under 16 years of age, and for more hours than allowed by law when school is in session, a violation of FLSA child labor requirements. Finally, WHD found the employer failed to maintain a record of the dates of birth for minor employees, develop a Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) policy, and post the required FLSA and FMLA posters to notify employees of their rights under the law.

“Employers must ensure that employees receive all wages they have rightfully earned, and they must follow child labor laws,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Richard Blaylock, in Raleigh, North Carolina. “We encourage all employers to review their legal obligations and to contact the Wage and Hour Division for compliance assistance. Particularly when they employ minors, employers need to be well aware of all of their responsibilities under the law.”

The Department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos, confidential calls, or in-person visits to local WHD offices.

For more information about the FLSA, child labor, and other laws enforced by the WHD, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd.

The mission of WHD is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation's workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.