SC catering company forced to pay nearly $23K after not paying overtime to workers
A North Charleston catering company shelled out nearly $23,000 in back pay to 18 employees after a federal investigation uncovered wage and record-keeping violations.
The U.S. Department of Labor this week announced that Crazy Dutchman Catering LLC had failed to pay hourly workers the $22,970 in overtime pay they had earned while working, including during the pandemic.
Federal officials say that from September 2018 to September 2020, Crazy Dutchman Catering owner Hans Van Heek tracked employee work hours at his Reynolds Avenue business but failed to track the number of hours employees worked at off-site events they catered, like weddings.
Instead, Crazy Dutchman paid workers a flat rate per event, regardless of the number of hours they worked. The labor investigation found the employer failed to pay workers overtime when their time spent working at offsite events combined with their work at the employer’s establishment exceeded 40 in a workweek.
Federal labor officials said in a statement Monday that this was a violation the Fair Labor Standards Act.
“Workers in the food service industries are among the most vulnerable we see,” said Jamie Benefiel, the department’s wage and hour district director in Columbia. “Workers, particularly those on the front lines who have kept us moving forward during a global pandemic, deserve to be paid every penny they have earned.”
A request for comment from Van Heek was not immediately returned Friday morning.
Van Heek founded Crazy Dutchman Catering in 2009. According to its website, Crazy Dutchman Catering employs a team of 30 employees that has “almost 40 years” of experience in the food and beverage industry.
“We’ve built our business model around the idea of keeping our overhead costs low and focusing on service so that we can give our customers the greatest value for their hard-earned dollar,” the website states.
This is the second labor violation reported at a South Carolina-based business in as many months.
In February, six Ben & Jerry’s locations in Myrtle Beach had to pay $16,250 after failing to pay overtime to 61 of their employees and after they employed 12-year-olds.
