Mexican restaurant chain owed over 100 employees wages in the Philly area

A Mexican restaurant chain withheld wages from more than a thousand employees across several states, according to an investigation by the Department of Labor. The investigation recovered $11.4 million in back wages and liquidated damages.

Plaza Azteca failed to pay employees minimum wage and overtime — including 134 employees in the Greater Philadelphia region.

“Our investigators found Plaza Azteca knew of its legal obligations to pay workers minimum wage and overtime and keep accurate payroll records and yet, willfully disregarded federal law,” said Jessica Looman, wage and hour administrator at the Labor Department, in a statement.

From March 10, 2016, to Sept. 21, 2021, the restaurant did not pay some workers the minimum wage and overtime, according to the suit. Plaza Azteca also failed to accurately record the hours employees worked and the wages they received.

The restaurant chain has locations in Exton, Kennett Square, King of Prussia, and Plymouth Meeting, which are part of the lawsuit. The 134 employees across those locations were owed $921,732.

More than 40 of the restaurant’s locations are cited in the lawsuit and are located in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Virginia.

The restaurant chain agreed to pay its employees the back wages and damages in a consent judgment reached with the Department of Labor, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Norfolk on Sept. 26. The agreement came after months of litigation and right before a jury trial was set to begin, according to the department.

Beyond the wages and damages owed, the company also agreed to pay a $625,000 civil fine.

A statement from the restaurant’s legal team said, “Plaza disputes it violated the law but reached a resolution with the DOL to bring closure to this matter and allow the business to continue to focus on being a great employer and providing an excellent customer experience.”

The restaurant chain has paid the full amount owed in wages, damages, and the fine, one of the attorneys said.

The Department of Labor has recently reached settlements with several other area companies to recover wages owed to employees. This fall, a Norristown pizzeria agreed to pay over $250,000, a grocery wholesaler in North Philadelphia said it would pay $419,000, and a Collegeville pizzeria agreed to pay over $268,000 to employees for unpaid overtime wages.

“This outcome sends a strong message to other restaurant industry employers of the costly consequences that can occur when they deprive employees of their full and rightful wages,” said Seema Nanda, solicitor of labor for the department, in a statement.