Enforcement

Labor Department says Tropical Grille paid $618,666 in back wages after wage, child labor probe

The Labor Department says it recovered $618,666 in back wages for 779 workers and assessed $100,000 in penalties after finding wage and child labor violations at Tropical Grille Restaurants in South Carolina.

The U.S. Department of Labor says Tropical Grille Restaurants paid $618,666 in back wages to 779 employees and $100,000 in civil money penalties after an investigation found violations of federal wage and child labor rules at 13 South Carolina locations.

According to the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division, the violations included improper tip pooling, overtime underpayment, recordkeeping problems and limits on the hours teens can work.

The department said investigators found managers and supervisors were allowed to participate in the restaurants’ tip pool. It also said the employer did not combine all hours worked by employees across locations, which led to some workers not receiving time-and-one-half pay for hours over 40 in a workweek.

The investigation covered Tropical Grille sites in Anderson, Clemson, Easley, Greer, Lexington, Mauldin, Simpsonville and Spartanburg, along with Greenville locations on Pelham Road, Old Buncombe Road, South Main Street, Verdae Boulevard and Woodruff Road, according to the release.

The department also said it found violations of hazardous occupation and child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. It said 14- and 15-year-olds were allowed to work longer and later than federal law allows.

As part of a compliance agreement, the employer must update or create child labor compliance materials and provide annual training on child labor rules for managers and supervisors, the department said.

The Labor Department’s release did not include a statement from Tropical Grille Restaurants in the material provided.

The agency’s release also points workers and employers to its Wage and Hour Division helpline, 866-4US-WAGE, and other compliance tools.