A federal investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $60,065 in back wages and liquidated damages for a former employee of a Bradenton Beach restaurant that forced them back to work the same day of their hospital discharge — despite doctor’s orders not to do so for three days — and terminated their employment less than a week later.
Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found The Wicked Taco Inc. – operating as Wicked Cantina – did not notify the worker of their rights to, and their ability to use protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act because of their medical situation.
Division investigators learned that after a brief hospitalization, the hospital released the worker on March 1, 2020, with instructions not to resume work duties until March 4, 2020. The day of their release, the employee went to Wicked Cantina to give a copy of the doctor’s orders to the restaurant’s general manager. The employee was instructed to work regardless of the doctor’s orders. The employer never brought up that the worker could use FMLA-protected leave and did not provide notification of the employee’s FMLA rights or provide the required forms or notifications.
On March 6, 2020, the restaurant’s general manager terminated the employee for alleged excessive tardiness and allegedly spreading rumors among co-workers about the management.
The department obtained a consent judgment on March 3, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa ordering payment of the back wages and damages by Wicked Taco and forbidding the employer from any future FMLA violations.
“When dealing with a health concern, no worker should be forced to fear losing their job while facing one of life’s difficult challenges,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Nicolas Ratmiroff in Tampa, Florida. “We will use all tools at our disposal to ensure workers receive their full protections under the law. The costly consequences for Wicked Cantina’s illegal actions are clear reminders for other employers that retaliating against workers for invoking their protected rights is no way to do business.”
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