A Pasadena bakery has been fined more than $80,000 for minimum wage violations and various California labor code violations, city officials announced today.
Chapala Bakery at 265 E. Orange Grove Blvd. was assessed nearly $81,000 in back wages, damages, premiums and interest after a joint investigation by the city’s Planning & Community Development Department and the California Department of Industrial Relations, according to Lisa Derderian, Pasadena public information officer.
Responding to an employee-generated complaint, city staff interviewed several bakery employees and determined that violations of Pasadena’s minimum wage ordinance and California Labor Code had occurred, she said.
City representatives held several meetings with the business owner in an effort to resolve the matter, but no agreement was reached, Derderian said.
The fines include minimum wage violations, overtime and split shift pay, meal and rest period pay, and liquidated damages due employees.
Staff from the DIR Judgement Enforcement Unit continue to investigate the proprietor’s various assets in an effort to recover funds for the payment of unpaid wages, penalties and damages.
