Tennessee restaurateur settles time and attendance violations

Atlas Incorporated, which operates two La Campina Mexican Grill locations in Tennessee, recently agreed to pay nearly $40,000 in overtime employee attendance back wages following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The department found that Atlas violated several time and attendance provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act pertaining to minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping. The money will be split between 23 of its employees.

"The Wage and Hour Division is committed to strengthening compliance in Tennessee industries that employ low-wage workers, such as restaurants, where we often find FLSA violations ... (made) to avoid making legally required overtime payments," said Sandra Sanders, director of the Wage and Hour Division’s Nashville District Office, in a statement.

Georgia-based restaurant chain Huddle House recently agreed to pay more than $60,000 in back wages to 128 employees following a similar Department of Labor investigation that uncovered widespread FLSA noncompliance at some of the chain's locations in Georgia, Missouri and West Virginia.