A Koreatown restaurant is in trouble with the U.S. Department of Labor again, this time for allowing a manager to take more than $28,000 in tips that should have gone to workers.
A manager at Oo-Kook Korean BBQ, located at 3385 W. 8th St., took part in the employee tip pool, which violates the Fair Labor Standards Act, the DOL said in a news release.
As a result, the restaurant owner will have to pay $28,213 in unpaid tips for 35 workers, $28,213 in “liquidated damages” for those employees and a civil penalty of $10,103 “given the employer’s history of violations,” the DOL said.
Previous run-ins with the DOL include a 2012 investigation that resulted in $5,300 in back wages for 14 workers and a 2020 investigation that found an employee at a La Mirada location was owed more than $16,000.
“Restaurant employers are responsible for ensuring that workers receive all the wages they earn, including tips,” Wage and Hour Division Assistant District Director Siriporn Poondee said in the release. “We encourage all employers in this industry to use the online tools we offer to help them comply with the law or to call us for assistance.”
For information, visit the DOL’s Quick Service Restaurants Compliance Assistance Toolkit.