Sign in Subscribe
News

🗞️ Minnesota Gyro Chain Ordered to Repay Workers $613,000 After Federal Wage Investigation

Federal investigators found NY Gyro, a nine location Minnesota restaurant chain, failed to track hours and pay overtime, resulting in $613,037 in back wages owed to 46 workers.

onthelaborfront

onthelaborfront

— 2 min read
Share
🗞️ Minnesota Gyro Chain Ordered to Repay Workers $613,000 After Federal Wage Investigation

The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division has recovered $613,037 in back wages for 46 employees of NY Gyro, a fast casual Mediterranean and South Asian restaurant chain with nine locations across Minneapolis, St. Cloud, Columbia Heights, Waite Park and Willmar, Minnesota. Federal investigators examined four of the company's locations, operated under the corporate names Rehman LLC, IN LLC, IQ LLC and MOON LLC, and determined the businesses had not kept required records of employee work hours, a violation of the recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Investigators also found that workers were paid straight time rates for all hours on the clock, including those exceeding 40 per week, denying them the overtime premium the law requires. In at least one case, an employee was paid below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, a rate well under Minnesota's state minimum of $11.41 and Minneapolis's local minimum of $16.37, according to the Star Tribune.

NY Gyro owner Nasir Khan told local media that the company disputes the department's findings but agreed to the settlement to avoid mounting legal costs, according to CBS News Minnesota. Khan said the cited violations were concentrated at the company's Minneapolis and Willmar locations, which he attributed to recordkeeping lapses rather than a deliberate effort to underpay staff, and said the company has since retrained its franchise partners and hired an outside accountant. A department spokesman declined to say what prompted the investigation.

Key Points

  • The Department of Labor recovered $613,037 in back pay for 46 workers at NY Gyro restaurant locations in Minnesota.
  • Investigators reviewed four of the company's nine Minnesota locations and cited violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act's recordkeeping and overtime provisions.
  • Workers were paid straight time for hours worked beyond 40 per week instead of the legally required time and a half.
  • At least one employee was paid less than the $7.25 federal minimum wage, below both Minnesota's $11.41 state minimum and Minneapolis's $16.37 local minimum.
  • NY Gyro's owner disputes the findings but agreed to pay the settlement, citing rising legal costs, and says the company has since improved its payroll recordkeeping practices.

Primary Source Author: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division

Primary Source: US Department of Labor recovers $613K for 46 workers denied minimum wage, overtime by Minnesota restaurant

Primary Source Link: https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20260728

Read more