Upper Crust to Pay $80K in Back Wages and Damages

Salem's has agreed to pay more than $80K in back wages as well as liquidated damages for 11 employees.

The announcement comes after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Wage and Hour Division found violations "of the overtime pay and record keeping provisions of the Fair Standards Act," according to a press release from the Department of Labor.

The press release indicates back wages totaled $40,277 — and an equal amount will be paid in liquidated damages, for a total compensation of $80, 554.

The investigation revealed the company did not properly classify its employees. Nonexempt kitchen employees were classified as exempt from FLSA overtime pay provision, the Department of Labor reported, so they would not received time and a half payment after they had exceeded 40 hours in a week.

According to the DOL, Upper Crust also did not keep accurate records of its employees' hours.

“'The Labor Department will not allow employers like The Upper Crust Pizzeria to violate the law and deprive vulnerable, low-wage restaurant workers of their rightful wages,'” Carlos Matos, assistant director of the Wage and Hour Division’s Boston District Office said in the press release. “'Requiring violators to pay liquidated damages in addition to the back wages owed ensures accountability under the law and also helps level the playing field for those employers who play by the rules and pay their workers fair wages.'”

The DOL said this is not the first time Upper Crust LLC has been in violation.

A 2009 investigation revealed the franchisor owed back wages totalling $341,545.53 to 121 employees in 10 stores over an approximately two-year period. The DOL said straight time wages were paid when employees should have been paid overtime. The company also did not correctly compute overtime rates for those receiving different hourly pay rates, the DOL said.