BATON ROUGE — The U.S. Department of Labor recovered $101,125 in back wages from three Baton Rouge area restaurants on Monday, the agency announced. 

The department's Wage and Hour Division investigated Gulfcoast Restaurant Group, which operates Umami Japanese Bistro in Baton Rouge as well as Geisha in Prairieville and Denham Springs. 

Investigators found that servers at Umami Japanese Bistro were forced to share their tips with non-tipped kitchen staff. This practice invalidated the restaurant's use of tip credit, which allows owners to pay tipped employees a minimum of $2.13 an hour, as long as the employee averages federal minimum wage after tips are applied. The employers are required to pay at least $66,000 in wages and $7,450 in tips to the affected employees. 

At the two Geisha locations, investigators found that salaried and kitchen employees were denied more than $27,000 in overtime pay.

The restaurant owners paid the $101,125 in back wages and an additional $2,325 in penalties. 

“The FLSA violations found at these restaurants are far too common in the service industry,” department director Troy Mouton said in a prepared statement. “Employers who claim a tip credit must ensure that they comply with the rules involving tipped employees, and they also must demonstrate that overtime is paid properly to those who have earned it.”