SAN JOSE – On March 18, 2019, the Labor Commissioner’s Office announced that it obtained a $1 million settlement from the owners of San Jose restaurant chain Burrito Factory to recover unpaid wages for 239 workers. The owners operated the chain of Mexican restaurants at four locations in San Jose.

The Labor Commissioner’s Office opened its investigation in October 2017, following a complaint. Investigators found that the employers did not pay workers properly for overtime or split shifts, which resulted in workers receiving less than the minimum wage for their work. The Burrito Factory also failed to provide workers a meal break, as required by law, often paid workers in cash and did not keep accurate payroll records.

“Investigators in the Department of Industrial Relations uncover wrongdoing by employers who don’t abide by the law and take financial advantage of employees,” said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona.  “Every worker deserves his or her earned wages.”

The Labor Commissioner’s Office entered into mediation talks with the restaurant chain in February after citations were issued for the labor law violations and the employer demonstrated its willingness to comply with state labor laws. The parties reached a settlement agreement to pay the workers $1 million with an additional $100,000 in civil penalties, payable beginning this July.