OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — The United States Department of Labor (USDOL) said Omaha-based Pitch Pizzeria has been ordered to pay 55 employees $93,304 of back wages and also a $2,049 penalty for "violating the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)."
During an investigation into the company, the USDOL found locations in Omaha, Nebraska and Scottsdale, Arizona to be in violation. It said Pitch failed to "include employee bonuses in the calculation when determining workers’ overtime rates." By failing to do so, Pitch paid employees overtime rates that were lower than those required by law said the USDOL.
Also, the company failed to include hours worked at multiple locations when considering overtime and "violated overtime requirements for tipped workers when they based overtime rates on the employees’ direct cash wages, rather than on the full minimum wage."
The company was also found to be in violation of child labor laws by keeping 15-year-old workers past 7 p.m. and for more than three hours on school days and for violations related to FLSA recordkeeping requirements.
You can read the USDOL's full release below:
"After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), United Holdings Group LLC – operating as Pitch Pizzeria and based in Omaha, Nebraska – has paid 55 employees a total of $93,304 in back wages to resolve violations of the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The employer also paid a penalty of $2,049 for violating the child labor provisions of the FLSA.
The WHD investigation found violations at Pitch Pizzeria locations in Omaha, Nebraska, and Scottsdale, Arizona. Specifically, the company violated overtime requirements by failing to include employee bonuses in the calculation when determining workers’ overtime rates. Basing overtime on hourly rates alone and excluding bonuses resulted in the employer paying overtime at rates lower than those required by law. Additionally, Pitch Pizzeria failed to combine hours that employees worked across multiple locations in the same workweek when determining whether overtime was due. By doing so, the employer failed to pay overtime when workers’ combined hours totaled more than 40 in a workweek. The employer also violated overtime requirements for tipped workers when they based overtime rates on the employees’ direct cash wages, rather than on the full minimum wage.
Additionally, the company violated child labor requirements by employing 15-year-olds to work past 7 p.m. and more than three hours on school days, and violated FLSA recordkeeping requirements when it failed to maintain records of all the hours employees worked.
'“The Wage and Hour Division works to ensure compliance with federal labor laws so that every employer is competing on a level playing field and every employee receives the wages they have legally earned. The Department takes the enforcement of child labor laws seriously and reminds employers of the importance of understanding and complying with those requirements,” said Wage and Hour District Director Marcy Boldman, in Des Moines, Iowa. “We encourage all employers to reach out to us and to use the wide variety of tools we offer to understand their responsibilities and ensure that their labor practices comply with federal law.'"
Download our apps today for all of our latest coverage.
Get the latest news and weather delivered straight to your inbox.
