Owner of Modesto restaurants fined $245k for not paying employees minimum wage or overtime
A Central Valley chain restaurant owner with two locations in Modesto was fined nearly a quarter of $1 million for violating federal wage regulations.
The U.S. Department of Labor recovered $245,722 in back wages and damages for 10 cooks after investigators found Thuan Do, 34, knowingly didn’t pay the cooks required overtime and minimum wages, according to a news release.
Investigators determined Do understood federal wage regulations but chose to pay the cooks a flat salary for all hours.
Do fabricated payroll records and reported fewer hours for the workers to make it seem he was complying with the law, the release said.
He owed the 10 cooks a total of $122,861 in unpaid overtime and minimum wages, and an equal amount in damages. The department also assessed $8,330 in civil penalties for Do’s “willful violations.”
“The Pho and its owner have learned that there are costly consequences for violating federal wage regulations,” said the department’s Wage and Hour Division District director, Cesar Avila. “The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to holding employers accountable, especially when they deny employees all of their hard-earned wages deliberately.”
Do owns four The Pho restaurants: one on Dale Road in Modesto, one on Oakdale Road in Modesto, one in Stockton and one in Manteca.
He also owns four Kung Fu Tea cafes — in Modesto, Turlock, Manteca and Stockton — according to 2021 Modesto Bee reporting. The investigation was conducted only at Do’s The Pho restaurants.
Do was not immediately available for comment.
