An eight-month investigation into Vazzy”™s Restaurant in Bridgeport has wrapped up with a nearly $80,000 settlement and civil penalties of $20,000 against the venue.
Connecticut Department of Labor Interim Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo said the department”™s Division of Wage and Workplace Standards found “widespread instances of labor violations” and has recovered $78,900 in back wages for 48 employees.
Launched in March, the investigation found that the restaurant failed to maintain lawful payroll processes and employee time records; failed to pay employees the minimum wage or overtime; and failed to provide meal periods as required under the law. There were no previous complaints filed with the division.
The violations put in motion inquiries into four other restaurants owned by John Vazzano: Vazzano”™s Four Seasons Banquet LLC in Stratford; Vazzy”™s Cucina in Shelton; Vazzy”™s Osteria in Monroe; and Vazzy”™s 19th Hole in Fairfield. Those investigations are continuing, according to Bartolomeo.
“Labor laws protect the very backbone of our economy — the workers who show up and do a fair day”™s work for a fair day”™s wage,” Bartolomeo declared. “Especially now, when the state needs full participation in the market to recover from the pandemic, it”™s vital that employees know they will be treated fairly in the workplace and compensated justly for their labor.”
