Margarita M. Phillips 
Thai restaurant Sweet Lemons in Weymouth, Massachusetts, was ordered by a federal judge to pay 13 workers a total of $345,000 in overtime and tip owed, the court heard last week.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts found that the restaurant, run by owner and manager Pornthip Neampong, withheld tips from workers, withheld overtime pay, failed to keep accurate wage records and exercised retaliation against some workers, ultimately violating fair labor standards. Law (LSF).
The court ordered Sweet Lemon and Neampong to pay the 13 affected workers $130,018 in back wages, $29,881 in tips withheld and $159,899 in damages. They were also ordered to pay $25,000 in punitive damages, for a total of $344,798.
“The biggest complaint we hear is ‘my client has no money’ and we’re hearing that more and more with COVID,” Klein Law Group partner Darren Rumack said of people who sue. lawsuits like this.
There is a similar lawsuit in New York against The Old Homestead Restaurant, with 40 employees, which is still in court for arrears and lost tips.
“It’s going to be a few more years of this coming out of the pandemic, and we’ll see things continue down this path,” Rumack said.
This is partly due to tip pooling and cash tipping rules.
The minimum wage for employees in Massachusetts is $6.15 an hour, but the cash wage is $14.25 an hour, which Sweet Lemons is accused of depriving workers of in addition to tips on the legal minimum wage.
“Sweet Lemon Inc. and Pornthip Neampong ignored the rights of their essential workers to receive fair wages and retaliated against employees who asserted their rights and cooperated with a federal investigation,” the district manager said. wages and hours, Carlos Matos in Boston, in a statement.
Sweet Lemons also failed to pay employees when they worked more than 40 hours per week, even going so far as to alter hours in the books and failing to keep proper records of hours worked.
In retaliation for employees who originally reported the violations in December 2020, Sweet Lemons had employees sign statements containing false information and interviewed an employee to find out if he had spoken with the wage and hour division.
“The court ruling recognizes that employers who retaliate against employees for asserting their rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act may pay the price in punitive damages,” said regional labor attorney Maia Fisher. in Boston in a statement. “The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to pursuing all legal avenues necessary to obtain appropriate compensation for employees and to deter retaliation and future violations by employers.”
According to Insider, in a December 2021 summary judgment motion, the DOL said Sweet Lemons admitted to not paying overtime premiums, withholding staff tips, not keeping accurate records and requiring staff to sign off. misrepresentations during the DOL investigation.
Sweet Lemons did not return Nation’s Restaurant News’ request for comment.
