A longtime Florida deli sliced $36,000 in earned pay from workers’ pay, Labor says
A Fort Myers delicatessen and butcher shop shorted workers $36,279 on earned pay, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found.
That money went to four workers at Mario’s Italian Meat Market & Deli, $9,069.75 per employee.
Labor’s Wage and Hour Division investigators found that Mario’s, started in 1954 and run by president Mario Pica and vice president Michael Pica, paid two deli clerks, one cook and a stocking person flat salaries no matter how many hours they worked. When they exceeded 40 hours per week, this was a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime section.
A Miami Herald reporter who called Mario’s for a comment or explanation was put on hold for 10 minutes, then disconnected.
“Some employers believe incorrectly that simply paying an employee a flat salary automatically means they don’t have to pay those workers overtime. That is not true,” Wage and Hour Division District Director Nicolas Ratmiroff said. “Any exemptions from the law’s overtime provisions require that very specific criteria be met.
“We hope this investigation’s outcome encourages other employers to review their own pay practices to ensure they avoid similar violations and comply with the law.”
The Wage and Hour complaint section of the Department of Labor website contains information on how to file a complaint. Miami’s Wage and Hour Division office can be reached at 305-598-6607.
This story was originally published May 12, 2021 at 8:59 AM with the headline "A longtime Florida deli sliced $36,000 in earned pay from workers’ pay, Labor says."
