La Mojarra Loca restaurant shortchanged employee wages in Nevada

La Mojarra Loca shortchanged employees in Nevada.

The Department of Labor has fined them.

Thousands of dollars are owed to employees of the restaurant.

La Mojarra Loca, a popular Mexican restaurant in Las Vegas, Nevada, is required to pay thousands of dollars to its employees.

According to the Department of Labor, they failed to pay overtime to 33 workers.

On Monday, May 20, 2024, the DOL announced sanctions against La Mojarra Loca through a statement.

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La Mojarra Loca owes employees thousands in overtime

Photo: Google Maps

«The operator of these La Mojarra Loca restaurants has continued to blatantly underpay and deprive employees of their hard-earned wages despite repeated investigations,» the DOL statement says.

Gene Ramos, District Director of the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor in Las Vegas, conducted the investigation.

According to Gene Ramos, the restaurant continued the practice of non-compliance with proper payment despite being investigated by the Department of Labor.

«We are determined to do everything in our power under the law to stop the unacceptable practices of employers such as La Mojarra Loca,» said Ramos.

Three of the chain’s restaurants were investigated for months

Photo: Google Maps

The restaurant had been under the scrutiny of the Department of Labor in Nevada in 2019 and 2022 for the same infractions.

Despite this, the operators of three La Mojarra Loca restaurants in Las Vegas continued to fail to pay overtime.

The investigation by the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor focused only on three La Mojarra Loca restaurants.

They are located at 797 S. Maryland Parkway, 821 N. Lamb Blvd. and 3210 E. Lake Mead Blvd.

The restaurant owes $75,729 to workers

Photo: Shutterstock

According to the Department of Labor, serious violations were discovered at these La Mojarra Loca restaurants in 2019 and 2022.

At that time over $450,000 in back wages and damages for the affected employees were recovered, and more than $34,000 in penalties were assessed.

However, La Mojarra Loca’s operators once again failed to pay their employees the fair wages for working over 40 hours a week.

Thirty-three employees are owed a total of $75,729 for work performed in various positions across the different locations of La Mojarra Loca.

The DOL also imposed a fine

PHOTO: Reference from Shutterstock

The Wage and Hour Division does not detail how the labor non-compliance at the restaurants was discovered.

Following the 2024 investigation, La Mojarra Loca must pay the $75,729 owed to the 33 employees.

In addition, the Department of Labor imposed a fine of $9,058.

MundoNow contacted La Mojarra Loca for comment about the investigation but did not receive a response.

Hispanic employees can seek help from authorities

PHOTO: Department of Labor / Julie Su (right), Secretary of the Department of Labor, visiting a restaurant

In the food and service industries labor abuses against Hispanic employees are quite common in the United States.

That is why the Department of Labor has a Spanish page with useful information, so that employees can learn their rights.

«The Department of Labor… is firmly committed to the welfare of the Hispanic workforce,» the agency says.

The agency provides various phone numbers and websites where complaints or queries about wages and work hours can be filed.