Red Robin workers awarded back pay for overtime
RESTAURANTS: Five had busy weeks at 2 stores owned by same employer.

By ELIZABETH BLUEMINK
ebluemink@adn.com

(11/12/08 23:01:28)
Five Red Robin restaurant employees in Anchorage recently were awarded $57,763 in back wages as the result of a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit.

The reason: missing overtime pay.

The affected employees had split their time at the two Red Robin restaurants in Anchorage, working an estimated 30 to 40 hours per week at each location, said Michael Shimizu, a Seattle-based spokesman for the Department of Labor.

Under federal law, the workers should have been paid overtime because the restaurants were run by the same employer. Instead, the two restaurants did not combine the workers' hours at the two locations for overtime purposes, he said.

The alleged violations had occurred from 2005 to this year, according to legal filings in the case.

In February, the department filed suit in Anchorage federal district court, claiming that the restaurants, run by Fred Rosenberg of Anchorage, were violating the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The case was settled on Oct. 15 and Rosenberg agreed to pay the employees within 14 days.

Rosenberg was out of town Wednesday and could not be reached for comment in time for this story.

He did not admit guilt in the settlement, according to Department of Labor officials.

The workers owed the $57,763, which included interest, are Cosme Ayala, Angel Estrella, Eduardo Ferreras, Miguel Michaca and Rodolfo Rodriquez, according to the Department of Labor's complaint.

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