Oregon Restaurant Must Pay Over $200,000 to Workers After Labor Investigation

By Diane Megaw On Apr 23, 2026

McMinnville’s Taste of India 1 restaurant must pay over $200K to 19 workers after the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found they didn’t pay legally required overtime and committed tip violations by incorrectly categorizing them and improperly handling tips.

The investigators found the restaurant violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by paying employees who were incorrectly exempted straight time rather than their regular rate of pay at time and a half for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

Tidings Insight

Paying someone a salary does not automatically make them overtime exempt. Federal law still requires time and a half after 40 hours unless a worker fits a narrow exemption test.

In addition, Taste of India 1 used workers’ tips to supplement base wages, creating “an invalid tip pool.” The agency recovered $200,137 in back wages. It assessed $15,256 in civil money penalties against the restaurant because of the willful nature of the violations.

Tidings Insight

Tips are not a free pool of money for the business to patch payroll gaps. DOL says employers can use tips only under strict rules, which is why an invalid tip pool becomes its own wage violation.

Workers can use the agency’s search tool to find out whether they may be owed back wages, and a free timesheet app for iOS and Android devices to track hours and pay.