The former owners of a Melbourne 7-Eleven allegedly put false entries into the head office payroll system so it looked like employees had worked fewer hours.
Haiyao Xu and his wife Yiran Gu ran the Parkville 7-Eleven and allegedly underpaid workers more than $84,000 in 2013 and 2014.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has launched legal action against the couple, whose 7-Eleven store in the CBD is also under investigation.
Ms Gu and Mr Xu allegedly made false entries into the 7-Eleven payroll system to make it look like the employees had been paid award rates and worked fewer hours.
They face maximum penalties of up to $10,200 per breach while their company could be hit with fines of up to $51,000 per contravention.
The 12 casual employees were allegedly underpaid $84,047 between September 2013 and September 2014.
It's claimed they were paid $11 to $17.31 an hour but should have got more than $22 for normal hours and up to $37 an hour in penalty rate shifts.
All but $500 of the underpaid wages bill has been repaid but Ombudsman Natalie James said legal action was underway because of the alleged deliberate exploitation of vulnerable overseas workers.
A directions hearing is listed in the Federal Circuit Court in Melbourne on November 17.
The embattled convenience store chain is also being investigated by the Ombudsman over allegations of systemic underpayments and false record-keeping practices.
Chairman Russ Withers and chief executive Warren Wilmot stood down recently after allegations of widespread underpaying of international students, who were threatened with deportation if they reported it.
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