Little Caesars franchise in Redwood City pays $409,457 following DOL wage violations

MG Fast Food Inc., the Little Caesars franchise operator in Redwood City, must pay $409,457 to 32 workers after a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act between 2022 and 2025. The settlement resolves claims that workers at the Redwood City pizza parlor were not paid required overtime and some were not paid for all hours worked.

“The agreement follows an investigation by the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division that found franchise operator MG Fast Food Inc. violated minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act between 2022 and 2025. The division says that the employer failed to pay employees time and one-half overtime rates for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek, instead paying straight time,” the agency summary provided to media states.

Investigators also cited minimum wage violations tied to unpaid hours and recordkeeping failures, noting discrepancies between timesheet totals and payroll records. The Insurance Journal summary of the WHD action lists the $409,457 recovery and the 32 affected workers but does not specify whether that total includes liquidated damages or civil money penalties; the full WHD settlement documents would clarify the calculation and any additional compliance terms.

The Little Caesars action is part of a string of recent federal enforcement actions in California foodservice. The DOL announced on July 11 that Suleiman Fakhouri & Sons, operator of Crepevine, owed more than $469,000 in back wages and damages after investigators found improper overtime at five Bay Area locations in Berkeley, Burlingame, Oakland, Palo Alto, and San Jose and denied 114 workers their fully earned wages. HRLaws’ summary lists $234,636 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages and notes a separate $82,706 in civil money penalties for willful violations; investigators also found minors assigned to work later and longer than federal child labor laws permit.

Federal enforcement has also targeted smaller operations. A DOL press release summarized by Resourceful Finance Pro says the Wage and Hour Division recovered $17,311 in back wages and assessed a $2,985 civil penalty against Naya Ding Inc., doing business as Ma’s Kitchen in Rowland Heights, after finding unpaid overtime and an unlawful tip pool that allowed owners to retain a portion of employees’ tips; nine employees received back wages. In San Diego, a WHD news release reported that O-Fire Corp., operating as Onami Seafood Buffet, will pay $29,992 in back wages and liquidated damages to two cooks after finding the employer paid flat salaries while the cooks worked an average of 52 hours per week and failed to keep accurate time records.

Separate federal litigation cited in DOL materials shows court orders can add remedial requirements beyond money. A consent judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York requires defendants to pay $575,233 — $287,616 in back wages plus equal liquidated damages — to 150 employees, pay $46,776 in civil penalties, designate a compliance officer, implement electronic timekeeping, and train supervisors on the FLSA and H-2B provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

The MG Fast Food Inc. settlement underscores persistent overtime, tip-pooling and recordkeeping exposure for franchise operators in California. With recent recoveries ranging from under $30,000 to more than $575,000 and court-ordered compliance regimes appearing in federal judgments, restaurant owners operating Little Caesars outlets and other chains face tangible financial and operational risk when payroll and timekeeping fall short of federal requirements.