Bergen Seafood Spot Shells Out $300K In Wage Theft Investigation: Feds

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A local seafood restaurant has to shell out tens of thousands of dollars to 63 workers in unpaid wages, according to federal investigators.

Aquarius Seafood Restaurant in Fort Lee owes more than $300,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for violating the U.S. Department of Labor's minimum wage and overtime requirements, investigators said.

In the action brought against the restaurant, the Labor Department recovered $150,000 in back wages (unpaid compensation) and an equal amount in damages, and assessed $35,000 in civil money penalties for the "willful nature of the employer's violations."

Specifically, the restaurant paid 11 employees less than minimum wage, and failed to pay (in full) the other employees for working overtime, Labor Department spokesperson Chauntra Rideaux said.

"Most people employed in the restaurant industry work long hours to support themselves and their families and they have the right to be paid all of their earned wages,” DOL Wage and Hour Division District Director Paula Ruffin said. “Aquarius... failed to fulfill their legal responsibilities and has faced the costly consequences for shortchanging their employees.”

In fiscal year 2022, the DOL's Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $27.1 million for more than 22,000 workers in the food service industry, a release said. In calendar year 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported near record numbers of job openings and of workers in the accommodations and food services industry quitting their jobs.

Aquarius' management was not immediately available for comment.