Syl's Busted For Violating Child Labor Laws: Government

ROCKDALE, IL ? Less than one month after Syl's went out of business, federal investigators issued a press release Friday saying that the Rockdale restaurant and catering company illegally employed 25 minor-aged workers as bussers, runners and dishwashers after 7 p.m. on school nights and 9 p.m. on weekends, and some more than 18 hours a week, and denied seven other workers overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek.

The U.S. Department of Labor?s Wage and Hour Division announced that Syl?s Restaurant and Lounge ? also known as Premier Events & Banquets Inc. ? violated federal child labor laws limiting the number of hours that 14- and 15-year-old employees can work. The employer also violated overtime wage laws.

?Child labor laws very specifically limit how many hours and at what times minors under 16 years of age can work,? explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Tom Gauza in Friday's press release. ?Employers have a legal responsibility for making sure they provide a safe environment for minor-aged workers and that they do not interfere with their schooling or overall well-being.?

Gauza's division said it assessed the employer $18,350 in civil money penalties and recovered $2,671 in back wages for the seven employees who were paid straight time for all hours worked, including hours over 40 in a workweek.

On Jan. 3, Joliet Patch reported that Syl's, which has been a Joliet area fine-dining restaurant institution since 1946, faced an uncertain future as Maura Williams announced that Syl's is now closed under current management.

"It is with a heavy heart that we share that we are closing our doors under the current management. We thank you for allowing us to be such a special part of your lives over the years. We hope the memories shared with us will live on in your hearts," Maura Williams announced on the Syl's Facebook page at the time.

In October, Patch reported that Don "Duke" Williams, a well-known figure in the Joliet area restaurant community and the owner of Syl's Restaurant & Lounge in Rockdale since 2019, died unexpectedly in the emergency room at St. Joe's hospital in Joliet.

Williams was 52 years old.

In fiscal year 2022, the Wage and Hour Division?s office in Chicago recovered $6.4 million, in back wages and $647,000 in liquidated damages for more than 6,400 workers. Most commonly, the division found violations of overtime and minimum wage. In the first four months of fiscal year 2023, the office has recovered $1.6 million in back wages and $814,000 in liquidated damages for 1,182 workers.

In 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that young workers aged 16 to 19 years old comprised nearly 12 percent of the nation?s workforce. As businesses consider hiring minors new to the workforce, employers must understand and comply with child labor rules. To assist employers and inform young workers and their parents, the division recently published ?Seven Child Labor Best Practices for Employers?