ATHENS: Federal agency to probe restaurants | News

ATHENS, Ga. -- Federal investigators said they will be looking for potential violations of labor laws at restaurants in northeast Georgia during the next month.

Alfredo Villoch, a community outreach specialist with the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, said the effort is part of an agency-wide focus on restaurant workers.

Villoch reported that investigators will focus on overtime and minimum wage requirements, and child labor law violations. He said they will review employment records, time cards and other paperwork at randomly selected restaurants.

Authorities said similar investigations have yielded several alleged violations, such as those at nearly 30 Huddle House restaurants in Georgia, Missouri and West Virginia. Federal officials said that 128 employees of the restaurant chain, which is headquartered in the Sandy Springs-Dunwoody area, will get $60,594 that investigators said they are owed.