From JDSupra, Richard Reibstein reports that the Biden Administration has sued a restaurant group seeking an order preventing the group from classifying cooks and dishwashers as independent contractors. Richard writes:
RESTAURANT GROUP SUED BY U.S. LABOR DEPARTMENT FOR CLASSIFYING COOKS AND DISHWASHERS AS IC’S. In one of the first independent contractor misclassification lawsuits brought by the Biden Administration, the U.S. Department of Labor has sued a Minnesota restaurant group in federal court seeking to enjoin and restrain it from withholding minimum wage and overtime compensation under the FLSA due to its alleged misclassification of cooks and dishwashers as independent contractors. According to the complaint, the cooks and dishwashers at Ramejo, LLC d/b/a Rancho Loco Mexican Grill & Bar and Fiesta Red Wing, LLC d/b/a Rancho Loco Grill & Bar were economically dependent on the restaurants because the workers lacked any opportunity for profit, needed no more than limited skills and initiative to perform their jobs, and were subject to control of their work and wages by the restaurant group. Walsh v. Ramejo LLC, No. 21-01171 (D. Minn. May 7, 2021).
