On February 27, 2025, the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), also known as the Labor Commissioner’s Office (LCO), announced it assessed Food Source LLC, a restaurant in Buena Park, California, over $1.1 million in penalties for alleged wage and hour violations.
The DIR’s citations included violations against 73 workers for unpaid wages, unpaid overtime, unpaid contract wages, liquidated damages, and noncompliant wage statements. The citations also included violations against 90 employees for not providing paid sick leave, not putting accrued paid sick leave on pay stubs, and not informing workers about their paid sick leave rights.
Employees who work at least 30 days in a year in California are entitled to accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours they work. Employers can cap the paid sick leave accrual and usage to 40 hours or five days per year. But employees can accrue up to a total of 80 hours, not of which are employers required to pay out after the employment relationship ends.