Unpaid Wage Cases in Austin, Texas

Since 2005 the U.S. Department of Labor has found $25M in back wages owed to 20,369 workers by Austin employers, in 1,119 cases. Unpaid overtime accounts for 62% of it. The industry with the most back wages is full-service restaurants.

$25MBack wages employers agreed to pay

20,369Workers owed back wages

1,119Cases with back wages

$847KCivil penalties assessed

What workers weren't paid

Overtime not paid$15.6M (62%)

Prevailing wage on government contracts$4.7M (19%)

Below minimum wage$2.8M (11%)

Other laws (farmworker, visa, leave and more)$2M (8%)

42 cases involved child labor violations, covering 54 minors.

Industries

Full-Service Restaurants$5.7M (23%)

State Police Protection$1.7M (7%)

Educational Support Services$1.5M (6%)

Other Local Governmental Facilities$1.3M (5%)

Limited-Service Restaurants$1.2M (5%)

All Other Specialty Trade Contractors$709K (3%)

Local School Boards or Districts$549K (2%)

Janitorial Services$532K (2%)

Cases with back wages by year

Largest back-wage cases

Travis County Sheriff Department 5555 Airport Blvd

$1.7M in back wages to 953 workers

State Police Protection · period investigated Mar 2017–Feb 2019

MKS2 Technologies 500 North Capital Texas Highway Building

$1.5M in back wages to 417 workers

Educational Support Services · period investigated Jun 2023–Jun 2025

Texas Dept of Family and Protection Services 14000 Summit Drive

$626K in back wages to 408 workers

Other Local Governmental Facilities · period investigated Jun 2008–Dec 2010

Texas Department of Health and Human Services 333 Guadalupe

$624K in back wages to 326 workers

Other Local Governmental Facilities · period investigated Jun 2008–Dec 2010

Austin Independent School District 1111 West 6th Street

$549K in back wages to 137 workers

Local School Boards or Districts · period investigated Jul 2002–Apr 2004

Kupplin World Wide (Sub to RDI) 8870 Business Park Drive, Ste 200

$378K in back wages to 0 workers

Professional Employer Organizations · period investigated Apr 2021–Aug 2022

Oasis Paleteria 7908 Gault Street

$325K in back wages to 0 workers

Mobile Food Services · period investigated Mar 2013–Oct 2014

Texas Department of Criminal Justice 8610 Shoal Creek Blvd

$315K in back wages to 85 workers

Parole Offices and Probation Offices · period investigated Jun 1997–Jun 2001

VSA Company 8552 Research Blvd.

$280K in back wages to 24 workers

All Other Specialty Trade Contractors · period investigated Aug 2021–Dec 2021

Trudy's 1600 S. Congress Ave.

$270K in back wages to 282 workers

Full-Service Restaurants · period investigated Jan 2018–Jan 2020

Most recent cases

Big Easy Saloon period ending Jun 2026

1 violation, no back wages · Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)

Tony C's Pizza and Beer Garden period ending Jun 2026

1 violation, no back wages · Full-Service Restaurants

KoMiCo period ending Jun 2026

4 violations, no back wages · Semiconductor and Related Device Manufacturing

Morris Janitorial period ending Apr 2026

1 violation, no back wages · Janitorial Services

One Taco period ending Apr 2026

1 violation, no back wages · Limited-Service Restaurants

El Pollo Rico #4 period ending Apr 2026

$30,831 in back wages to 43 workers · Full-Service Restaurants

North Italia (The Domain) period ending Apr 2026

1 violation, no back wages · Full-Service Restaurants

Austin's Pizza - William Cannon period ending Mar 2026

1 violation, no back wages · Full-Service Restaurants

Bondi Bowls Austin LLC period ending Mar 2026

1 violation, no back wages · Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars

Taverna period ending Mar 2026

1 violation, no back wages · Full-Service Restaurants

Tacodeli - South Lamar period ending Mar 2026

$4,420 in back wages to 22 workers · Limited-Service Restaurants

Walton's Fancy & Staple period ending Mar 2026

1 violation, no back wages · Limited-Service Restaurants

O's Campus Cafe period ending Feb 2026

$3,988 in back wages to 1 worker · Limited-Service Restaurants

Scholz Garten period ending Feb 2026

$969 in back wages to 8 workers · Full-Service Restaurants

Wingzup period ending Feb 2026

$427 in back wages to 6 workers · Full-Service Restaurants

P. Terry's - Congress Downtown period ending Feb 2026

$1,300 in back wages to 8 workers · $1,127 in penalties · Limited-Service Restaurants

Cherry Creek Catfish Co period ending Feb 2026

$734 in back wages to 3 workers · Full-Service Restaurants

Papa John's Pizza #935 period ending Feb 2026

1 violation, no back wages · Limited-Service Restaurants

Buenos Aires Cafe period ending Feb 2026

1 violation, no back wages · Full-Service Restaurants

ThunderCloud Subs period ending Jan 2026

1 violation, no back wages · Limited-Service Restaurants

If you weren't paid what you're owed

Federal law requires at least the minimum wage and time-and-a-half for hours over 40 a week for most hourly workers, and many states set higher minimums. You can file a free, confidential complaint with the Wage and Hour Division or your state labor department, and you can also sue to recover unpaid wages, often with an equal amount in damages and your attorney fees. Deadlines are generally two to three years under federal law.

Owed wages by a Austin employer?

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Other Texas cities

Source: the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division enforcement data (every concluded compliance action since fiscal year 2005), from the DOL Open Data Portal, loaded November 9, 2026. “Back wages” is the amount employers agreed to pay workers after an investigation found they were underpaid; dates are the end of the period the investigation covered. Employer names and addresses are as DOL publishes them. Federal cases only: state labor departments and private lawsuits recover more that isn't counted here.

Lawbamba is not affiliated with the Department of Labor, and this page is general information, not legal advice.