The U.S. Department of Labor secured a consent judgment ordering Panmark Ltd., doing business as Mythos Restaurant, and owners Peter Theodoropoulos and Paul Theodoropoulos, to pay a total of $329,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 21 restaurant workers. The judgment resolves a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York charging the Flushing, Queens, restaurant and its owners with violations of the minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The legal action followed an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found the defendants underpaid 21 low-wage restaurant employees between Aug. 23, 2008, and Aug. 20, 2011. Restaurant wait staff were not paid any wages and worked for tips only, while busboys and kitchen staff were paid a fixed shift rate, but not overtime, for hours worked above 40 in a workweek.

In addition to the back wages and liquidated damages, which will be paid to the workers, the defendants will pay a $7,100 civil money penalty. They will also post the FLSA notice, in English and Spanish, in the workplace to inform workers of their rights. Further, the judgment requires the defendants to pay proper minimum wage and overtime to workers and maintain adequate and accurate records. It restrains them from retaliating against any employee who files a complaint with, or cooperates in an investigation, by the Wage and Hour Division.

The FLSA requires that covered, nonexempt employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, as well as time and one-half their regular rate for every hour they work beyond 40 per week. The law also requires employers to maintain accurate records of employees’ wages and hours and other conditions of employment. It prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who exercise their rights under the law.