Antonia’s Pizzeria in Freeport in February. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer, file
Antonia’s Pizzeria was fined $51,140 and ordered to provide training on the Fair Labor Standards Act as a result of a federal investigation on wage practices and employee safety at the Freeport restaurant.
Owner Lee Sotiropoulos pointed toward the business’s record keeping as the reason behind the wage findings of the investigation.
“The restaurant paid its employees upon completing their work. However, the Department of Labor focused its scrutiny on the record-keeping aspect,” Sotiropoulos said. “Consequently, the DOL required the restaurant to provide additional compensation to the employees due to concerns regarding record-keeping practices. While we could have contested this with the DOL, the exorbitant cost of litigation led us to believe that it would be more suitable to reach a settlement.”
In a November investigation, the U.S. Department of Labor found the pizzeria failed to pay 36 workers their total wages by denying overtime and falsifying timecards. In addition, the department found evidence of minors working long hours that exceeded legal limits and said management allowed an underaged employee to clean a hazardous meat slicer.
The DOL recovered $200,000 in unpaid wages and damages for dozens of employees. Antonia’s Inc. was fined $29,052 for having violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and overtime provisions, and $6,088 for child labor violations. The department also heard claims that employers had pressured workers not to speak to investigators, which led to a lawsuit in February and an additional $16,000 in penalties.
Going forward, the DOL judgment requires Antonia’s Inc. to provide training to all managers on the Fair Labor Standards Act, with a focus on tips, minimum wages, overtime compensation, record keeping, child labor and retaliation.
Sotiropoulos said in order to comply with labor laws, the business will maintain proper record-keeping, address meal and rest break requirements, monitor child labor restrictions, and train all managers on labor laws.
Antonia’s Pizzeria, located at 193 Lower Main St., opened in 2007.
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