39 Concord Dos Amigos Burritos Employees Stiffed $62K In Tips

CONCORD, NH — Tens of thousands of dollars in tips that should not have been shared with restaurant managers at a Concord burrito joint have been recovered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

Dos Amigos Burritos on North Main Street improperly split tips in the tip pool with managers leading to 39 employees being shorted money. The division investigated the matter and found $61,788 in tips managers should not have received.

“Tipped workers in the food services industry rely on their hard-earned tips to make ends meet,” Wage and Hour Division District Director Steven McKinney, of the department’s Manchester office, said. “Restaurant employers must understand that keeping workers’ tips or diverting a portion of these tips to managers or supervisors in a tip pool is illegal.”

McKinney said the department published a final rule, Tip Regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act, effective April 30, 2021. That rule blocks employers from keeping employee tips — under any circumstances. Managers and supervisors are also not allowed to keep tips received by employees, including through tip pools.

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The prohibition applies even if tipped workers are paid hourly at rates equal to or above the full minimum wage, he noted. The employees were compensated properly later.

“To avoid costly mistakes,” McKinney said, “like those found in this investigation, employers should contact us to discuss their responsibilities.”

The restaurant “liquidated damages” for the 39 employees affected to rectify the violation and compensate them properly.

Child Labor Violation In Portsmouth

During the investigation, the division also found three minors working at the restaurant’s Portsmouth location in violation of child labor hours restrictions.

The teens were all 15 and were allowed to work more than five hours a day, on school days, and as late as 10 p.m. Employees under 16 can work in non-agricultural jobs and outside of school hours no more than three hours on a school day or eight hours on non-school days. They can also work no more than 18 hours in school weeks or 40 hours in non-school weeks. Teens are also not allowed to work before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m., except between June 1 through Labor Day when evening hours are extended to 9 p.m.

Dos Amigos Burritos was fined $2,073 in a civil penalty to resolve the matter.

Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions, regardless of their immigration status, and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages, toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).

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