A growing number of South Florida restaurants are facing costly wage-and-hour lawsuits for failure to comply with federal and state employment laws. In fact, across the country, employers were hit with 8,261 FLSA lawsuits in 2017—a sharp rise in the past 20 years, since only 1,597 FLSA lawsuits were filed in 1997. Recent examples include allegations of paying below minimum wage, violating tip pooling rules and recording only 40 hours on time cards in order to avoid overtime pay.

In these types of cases, employers run the risk of serious financial penalties, whether their actions are due to ignorance or a willful disregard of the law. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which establishes minimum wage, overtime pay and record-keeping rules, an employee’s claim can go back three years, raising the amount in dispute. If the employee prevails in court, the restaurant owner could pay double the amount of lost pay, plus reasonable attorney fees and court costs.

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