EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — The U.S. Department of Labor is accusing an Evansville restaurant of intimidating workers over back pay.

The Labor Department says Friendship Diner owes its employees more than $450,000 in back wages and damages. A lawsuit was filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court against the diner and owner Bardhyl Shabani.

The department accuses the southwestern Indiana restaurant of failing to pay minimum wages of $7.25 per hour, and failing to pay overtime. The restaurant also was accused of having an illegal tip-sharing pool.

Also, the owner is accused of coercing employees to give false statements to investigators.

Another restaurant Shabani operates in Wisconsin also faced action from federal investigators in 2023, the Labor Department says.

This story was created in part from a script aired on WISH-TV.