Wisconsin restaurant shorted workers more than $272,000, violated child labor laws
Casa Tequila LLC and its owner, Maria Campuzano, must pay 110 employees $272,177 in back wages plus pay $2,373 for child labor violations. After a two-year review in April 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor found that Casa Tequila violated several federal regulations at its four locations in Pewaukee, Hartford, Waukesha and West Bend. s and operate an “invalid tip pool.” “The minimum wage violations were about invalid tip pools where servers who earned tips were forced to share those tips with back-of-the-house workers, the cooks,” Baker added. Investigators found the West Bend and Waukesha locations violated federal child labor standards by employing three children between the ages of 1[ads1]4 and 15 after 9 p.m. and for more than 8 hours. In addition to requiring the payment of back wages, the department assessed $2,373 in civil monetary penalties against Casa Tequila LLC for child labor violations. Campuzano declined to comment Monday. “We are pursuing agreed compliance with the employers, which is what has happened in this case,” Baker said. “The owner of Casa Tequila has agreed to pay back the wages, $272,000. That money goes directly to the workers who should have received those wages in the first place.” The Ministry of Labor does not reveal what led to the investigation. Campuzano is not facing any criminal charges.
Casa Tequila LLC and its owner, Maria Campuzano, must pay 110 employees $272,177 in back wages plus pay $2,373 for child labor violations.
After a two-year review requested in April 2022, the US Department of Labor found that Casa Tequila violated several federal regulations at its four locations in Pewaukee, Hartford, Waukesha and West Bend.
“The investigator found that there are a number of minimum wage and overtime violations,” said Dan Baker, assistant district director of the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.
Baker said those violations include not paying overtime rates and operating an “invalid tip pool.”
“The minimum wage violations were about invalid tip pools where servers who earned tips were forced to share those tips with back-of-the-house workers, the cooks,” Baker added.
Investigators found the West Bend and Waukesha locations violated federal child labor standards by employing three children between the ages of 14 and 15 after 9 p.m. and for more than 8 hours.
In addition to requiring the payment of back wages, the Division assessed $2,373 in civil monetary penalties to Casa Tequila LLC for child labor violations.
Campuzano declined to comment Monday.
“We are pursuing agreed compliance with the employers, which is what has happened in this case,” Baker said. “The owner of Casa Tequila has agreed to pay back the wages, $272,000. That money goes directly to the workers who should have received those wages in the first place.”
The Ministry of Labor does not reveal what led to the investigation. Campuzano is not facing any criminal charges.