PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WHTM) – A Pennsylvania restaurant was ordered to pay $184,000 in back wages, damages, and penalties after an investigation found they withheld tips.

The U.S. Department of Labor says Sly Fox Brewing Company in Pittsburgh “unlawfully kept a portion of the tips earned by workers, allowing managers to participate in the restaurant’s tip pool.”

Allowing managers to participate in the tip pool is a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The Department of Labor says the investigation focused on Sly Fox Pittsburgh Taphouse and Sly Fox Pittsburgh Brewery. The company also operates pubs in Berks, Montgomery, and Chester counties.

The restaurant was ordered to pay $84,710 in owed wages, pay civil penalties of $15,435, and pay $84,710 in liquidated damages.

“Restaurant workers often make low wages and depend on every dollar earned, including tips, to help support themselves and their families,” said Wage and Hour District Director John DuMont in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “Restaurant employers must ensure that tipped employees receive their full pay, in compliance with the federal law.” 

“This legal action recovers the workers’ hard-earned wages and sends a message to other restaurant employers that violations come at a cost,​” said Philadelphia Regional Solicitor of Labor Samantha N. Thomas. “The U.S. Department of Labor is prepared to use every tool available, including litigation, to prevent employers from depriving workers of their wages.”

Outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, have hit poultry and cattle farms in the country, and Pennsylvania is taking preventative measures with bulk testing of milk.

As of Tuesday, Nov. 26, the state’s Department of Agriculture requires milk tank trucks to submit at least one sample to a Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratory System lab within 48 hours. The process will be at no cost to farmers.

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If HPAI is detected, the department will establish a special quarantine on the farm where the sample originated. All dairy cattle herds inside the quarantine zone will undergo additional sampling and testing. 

The virus is not typically fatal for dairy cattle like it is for poultry, but it can lead to serious illnesses for some cows and slow down milk production. Milk from infected cattle is still safe to drink after it is pasteurized.

“Increased, proactive testing is the only way to confirm that we don’t have the virus in Pennsylvania dairy cows or catch it early and stamp it out if we do, so farms can quickly get back to normal,” State Veterinarian Dr. Alex Hamberg said.

Pennsylvania has no confirmed cases of HPAI, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture said there have been 286 cases in cattle across two states (California and Utah) in the past 30 days. The state joins three others (Arkansas, Massachusetts and Oklahoma) that don’t have an outbreak but have ordered mandatory testing of milk samples.

“Taking this proactive step will ensure that we can protect our cattle, poultry, and farmworkers,” Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said. “We are taking this step after careful consideration, in consultation with dairy and poultry farmers, and after voluntary testing was not adequate to get samples necessary for detection and prevention. Pennsylvania’s large number of farms with both dairy cattle and poultry present unique risks that demand extra vigilance.”

According to the state Department of Agriculture, poultry and dairy are the two largest sectors in the state’s $132.5 billion agriculture industry.

In California, the virus was found in raw milk sold in stores, and the state’s Department of Public Health issued a recall and urged citizens not to drink the product. The CDC also confirmed that a child in California was infected and has recovered from the bird flu.