WICHITA, Kansas (KWCH) – A Wichita-area restaurant chain is fighting back after a federal court jury awarded workers at three Los Cocos locations in Andover, Derby and Wichita nearly $1 million in back wages.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported that the restaurants intentionally violated federal law by using waiters’ tips to pay hosts and busboys and by withholding minimum wage and overtime pay from workers.
In a statement posted on Facebook on Friday, Sept. 20, the restaurant chain said there were “fundamental misinterpretations” of its tip pool system. The chain said the system complies with federal law and was created “at the request of servers, not management.”
“Our employees are aware of the tip pool,” the restaurant chain continued. “Los Cocos distributes all amounts collected in the tip pool to its hostesses and assistant waiters.”
The court also said investigators found that Los Cocos owners did not pay waiters and cooks the required overtime and did not keep complete and accurate time records.
Mexican restaurant chain Los Cocos claims it has provided payroll records showing that all employees consistently earn wages above minimum wage and that it has provided evidence “demonstrating the validity of our tip pool, including the collection and distribution of the tip pool.”
A total of 168 workers are involved in the lawsuit. It is stated that the violations occurred between May 2017 and December 2022.
Los Cocos must pay a total of $957,000, including $567,291 in minimum wage for loss of tip credit, $276,115 in overtime pay, $88,590 for withheld tips and $25,328 for other minimum wage violations.
The restaurant chain said it would remain open while it explores all available legal options to appeal the ruling.
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