U.S. Labor Dept. sues Missouri restaurant for $1.9M in wage violations

ST. LOUIS — The U.S. Department of Labor has sued a Jefferson City buffet restaurant and its owner for wage violations. The lawsuit against Dragon Kitchen and owner Danny Cheng, seeks nearly $1.9 million in back wages and damages for 26 workers.

Investigators found the restaurant paid servers only in tips and gave cooks set cash salaries regardless of hours worked, violating minimum wage and overtime regulations. The violations occurred from December 2021 through July 2024.

The department is seeking $935,920 in back wages, an equal amount in liquidated damages, and a $35,672 civil penalty for willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“Allowing servers to work for tips only and pay a set cash wage to cooks blatantly violates federal wage law. All too often, our food service industry investigations find employers violating federal overtime, minimum wage and recordkeeping regulations. At the same time, workers are unaware of their rights and afraid to question their paychecks’ accuracy,” states Wage and Hour District Director Noah Lee in St. Louis, Missouri.

The Labor Department offers resources for understanding wage laws and encourages workers who believe they are owed back wages to use their online tools or contact their helpline .

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