Foodienomics

Daikokuya Owners Agree to Pay $144,721 in Back Wages

In Deep: Daikokuya
In Deep: Daikokuya Photo: Louie Baer via Flickr

Following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bishamon Group Restaurants, owners of Downtown’s popular Daikokuya, as well as Ebisu, and Bento-Ya, and soon to bring Oreno Yakiniku to the area, have agreed to pay $144,721 in back wages to employees. The San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports that investigators nailed the restaurant for intentionally denying overtime pay for prep cooks, cooks, and dishwashers, which violates the Fair Labor Standards Act’s provisions for overtime, minimum wage, and record-keeping.

The employees were being paid in cash for overtime work, which was paid at the “straight time” rate and not at the required “time-and-a-half” rate. All of this came to light when Bishamon failed to give an exiting employee his final paycheck, at which point the man called the Department of Labor and kicked off this investigation. Similar accusations are currently brewing for Shin Korean BBQ and its star investors. Perhaps the labor department’s attention to these issues show at least some attempt to correct the abuses found in a recent restaurant labor study in L.A.

Restaurant chain owes $144K to workers [SGVT]

Daikokuya Owners Agree to Pay $144,721 in Back Wages