Restaurant workers at 13 Tropical Grille locations in upstate South Carolina have recovered $618,666 in back wages and tips after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation. The department announced on August 24, 2026, that the restaurant group paid the money to 779 employees after investigators found managers sharing in employee tip pools, overtime shortfalls for people who worked at more than one location, recordkeeping failures and child labor violations. The company also paid $100,000 in civil money penalties.
Where the 779 workers were employed
According to the Wage and Hour Division announcement, the back wages cover workers at Tropical Grille restaurants in Anderson, Clemson, Easley, Greer, Lexington, Mauldin, Simpsonville and Spartanburg, along with five Greenville locations on Pelham Road, Old Buncombe Road, South Main Street, Verdae Boulevard and Woodruff Road. The chain is owned by Lazaro and Shadid Montoto, Insurance Journal reported.
The two sums are different kinds of money. The $618,666 is back pay owed to the 779 employees. The $100,000 is a civil money penalty assessed for the child labor and tip retention violations, and it is paid to the government rather than to workers. Averaged across the workforce, the back pay comes to roughly $794 per person, although individual amounts depend on each employee’s hours, tips and locations.
Tropical Grille told FOX Carolina that the federal investigation began in 2024, that it “cooperated fully with the investigation, paid the amounts determined to be owed,” and that it has changed its policies and procedures. The company described the violations as non-willful…