Date of action:           Dec. 8, 2023

Type of action:          Order granting Department of Labor’s motion to intervene

Court:                         U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in White Plains, New York

Defendants:               Berkshire Nursery & Supply Corp.

CHICAGO – A joint investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Illinois Office of the Attorney General has recovered $3 million in back wages, damages and interest for 283 workers denied overtime owed under federal and state regulations by an Elk Grove meat processing and packaging plant.

RICHFIELD, MN – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit to recover more than $508,000 in back wages and liquidated damages owed to employees of two Richfield grocery stores whose operators paid them an “artificially” low hourly rate to make it appear the employers paid the proper overtime rate.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The owner and operator of four western Michigan convenience stores agreed to pay $36,528 in back wages and damages to 13 workers to resolve a lawsuit brought by the U.S.

BOSTON – In a complaint filed in Vermont federal court, the U.S. Department of Labor has alleged that a Milton excavation company retaliated against an employee in social media posts after the company’s workers received back wages and damages in 2023, resulting from an investigation into the employer’s pay practices.

Employers:    Detroit Body Guards Protection Unit LLC

                        Carla Bland, human resources director

Actions:          Fair Labor Standards Act complaint filing

Courts:           U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – A federal court in Michigan has ordered the owner of a Haslett assisted living facility, 

who allegedly threatened to fire three employees after she suspected they cooperated with a U.S. Department of Labor investigation, to attend training on federal anti-retaliation regulations and pay back wages and damages.

WASHINGTON – When a group of bakery distribution drivers filed a lawsuit alleging that Bimbo Foods Bakeries Distribution LLC owed them overtime compensation and misclassified them as independent contractors rather than employees covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act, the company countersued the workers.

WASHINGTON – Como la División de Horas y Salarios del Departamento de Trabajo de EE. UU.

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY – The owner of a Lynbrook grocery store believed they could ignore requests from the U.S. Department of Labor and a federal court in New York to cooperate with an investigation of their company’s pay practices. 

When the U.S. Marshals Service arrested and took Joseph Rossi into custody on Dec. 5, 2023, for repeatedly failing to provide information to the department’s Wage and Hour Division as part of a compliance investigation, the owner of Cross Island Fruits found out how wrong this belief was.

Employer name:                               Chief’s Place Pizza Restaurant Inc. doing business as Chief’s Place

Investigation site:                             348 Village St., Concord, NH 03303

BOSTON – A federal administrative law judge has determined that New Hampshire general contractor Barry Billcliff, doing business as Merrimack Valley Roofing and under other alleged business names, willfully exposed his employees to fall safety hazards and held him personally liable for more than $160,000 in penalties and attorneys’ fees. 

DETROIT, MI – A federal court has ordered the owner of a Michigan senior home care services company be imprisoned if she continues to ignore a March 2023 federal court order to provide U.S. Department of Labor investigators with time and pay records, despite being in contempt of court since Sept. 27, 2023, and assessed $250 for each day she refused to comply. 

Employers:    Poros Inc., operating as Bentley’s Pancake House

Pete and Stavroula Giafis,owners 

Actions:          Fair Labor Standards Act consent order and judgment

Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Date of Action:          Nov. 1, 2023

Type of Action:         Employee Retirement Income Security Act default judgment

Company/Owners:    Claddagh Development Group LLC, operating as Claddagh Irish Pubs

Claddagh Development Group LLC Employee Savings Trust

WASHINGTON – El Departamento de Trabajo de EE UU ha recuperado $11.4 millones   en concepto de salarios atrasados y daños y perjuicios para más de 1,000 empleados de una cadena de restaurantes de la Costa Este después de una serie de investigaciones y de litigio que el Departamento llevó a cabo. 

HARTFORD, CT – Numerous southeastern Connecticut residents rely on domestic caregivers for their daily living needs.

Date of action: October 31, 2023

Type of action: A temporary restraining order issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Camden, New Jersey. The action follows a complaint and motion filed by the U.S. Department of Labor on Oct. 30, 2023.

BOSTON – The U.S.

Date of Action:          Oct. 26, 2023

 Type of Action:         Employee Retirement Income Security Act default judgment

Company/Owners:    Associated Community Services Inc. 

                                          Associated Community Services 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan and Trust