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Operator of Himalayan Kitchen owes $40K in back wages to cooks

The operator of two Oʻahu restaurants denied workers overtime wages and failed to keep records for work hours, federal officials say.

Himalayan Kitchen LLC has two restaurants in Honolulu and Kailua.

According to the U.S. Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division, the owner of the two restaurants did not give their cooks overtime pay when they worked more than 40 hours a week.

The cooks worked an average of 10.5 hours a day, and one cook was paid lower than minimum wage.

The owner of Himalayan Kitchen LLC owes $40,000 in back wages and another $40,000 in liquidated damages for five employees. They must also pay $1,000 in civil money penalties.

In the fiscal year 2021, the division found more than $34 million in wages owed to food service workers nationwide.

Zoe Dym was a news producer at Hawaiʻi Public Radio.
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