The Wall Street Journal recently reported that wage lawsuits against restaurants have proliferated in troubling and damaging numbers:

“…The number of wage-violation lawsuits has been on the rise for more than a decade, driven by a successful worker-organization movement, increased attention by plaintiffs’ attorneys and complicated labor laws that leave some employers confused, according to legal analysts and industry leaders.

Nationwide, these lawsuits have doubled in the last 10 years in federal courts. In Texas, the number of overtime lawsuits and settlements continues to increase as well. The US Department of Labor recently reported that its wage and hour division found violations in 95 percent of its investigations of Austin-area restaurants between Oct. 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016. 

So why do the vast majority of restaurant employers continue to violate wage laws despite news reports of DOL investigations and lawsuits? 

Read more about overtime claims by restaurant workers.