SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a default judgment to recover $153,768 for four people whose former employer abandoned its employee retirement plan more than two decades ago, leaving no one to administer the plan and authorize distribution of its funds, a violation of federal law.

CHICAGO – A federal court has ordered the operators of a Huntley restaurant to pay eight employees more than $105,000 in back wages and damages, despite the employers’ attempt to interfere with a U.S. Department of Labor investigation that found they illegally denied the workers their earned overtime wages.

BOSTON – In early June 2022, an employee of a Vermont company that sells and services agricultural equipment observed their employer pumping wastewater from the facility’s service bays onto the ground bordering the Winooski River in Berlin. The employee reported their concerns about the potential harm to the river, first to supervisors and then to the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation.

CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit in federal court to force a Waukegan roofing contractor to pay $360,531 in penalties for repeatedly exposing employees to falls from elevations, the leading cause of fatal injuries in the construction industry.

NEW YORK– The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against DISH Network Corp. seeking an order to compel the company to provide documents and information needed to complete a review of the federal contractor’s equal employment opportunity practices at its Roseland, New Jersey, location.

CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent order from a federal judge that orders the owner and administrator of an Illinois home care and home healthcare provider to pay $324,049 in back wages and liquidated damages as part of the department’s effort to recover overtime denied to 159 healthcare workers.

TYLER, TX – The U.S. Department of Labor filed a lawsuit against Tyler Pipe Company alleging violations of federal whistleblower protections after the company fired an employee because they requested to use a respirator to protect them from smoke and fumes in the work area.

CHICAGO – A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction against the fiduciaries of a Chicago-based multiple employer welfare arrangement to protect the fund’s remaining assets after a Department of Labor investigation alleged its fiduciaries and counsel misused more than $2.8 million in fund assets, and that they continue to mismanage the fund.

Date of action:                       July 21, 2023

Type of action:                      Stipulated settlement agreement

Names of defendants:           WSC Group LLC, 134 12th St., Brooklyn, New York

CONCORD, NH – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has recovered $215,675 in back wages and liquidated damages for 47 employees employed by Miguel Reynosa and Crescencio Reynosa, the operators of two restaurants in Dover and Epping, who denied workers their full wages and permitted four minors to work longer and later than legally permitted.

NEW YORK – KDE Equine LLC — doing business as Steve Asmussen Stables — has entered into a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor to reimburse its grooms and hot walkers $129,776 to resolve violations of the federal H-2B worker program which permits businesses to employ temporary visa workers.

QUAKERTOWN, PA - Un tribunal de Pensilvania ha declarado que el administrador general de Quakertown Hampton Inn incurrió en desacato por violar una sentencia acordada en febrero de 2023. La sentencia por desacato requiere que la empresa pague $8,750 en concepto de salarios atrasados, y un monto igual en concepto de daños y perjuicios y $500 en intereses para el personal afectado del hotel, así como $2,000 para reembolsar las costas de investigación y abogados.

Date of Action:                      July 20, 2023

MADISON, WI – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit against the nation’s largest third-party medical claims administrator for routinely denying healthcare claims for emergency room services and urinary drug screening for at least 2,136 self-funded employee welfare benefit plans.

FORT WAYNE, IN – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment in federal court as part of its recovery of $188,915 in  overtime back wages and liquidated damages for 83 employees denied overtime pay by a Fort Wayne home care provider.

Employer name: Morris-Pace Assisted Living Inc., operating as Morris-Pace Personal Care Home, and located at 416 Reading Ave., Reading, Pennsylvania 19611

Court action: Consent judgment obtained on July 3, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by the Department of Labor.

HARTFORD, CT – A federal court has entered a consent judgment and order requiring six Connecticut restaurants and their owners to pay a total of $858,191 in back wages and liquidated damages to 105 employees after an investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The restaurants are located in Darien, Fairfield, Greenwich, New Canaan, New Haven and Westport.

SALT LAKE CITY – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $502,609 in back wages and liquidated damages for 148 people employed by one of Utah’s largest Asian grocers after the agency filed suit to stop the employer from interfering with an investigation into employer’s compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Employer:      The Saucy Crab Grand Rapids LLC operating as The Saucy Crab

                        5039 28th St. SE

                        Grand Rapids, MI

FAIRFAX, VA – A federal court has directed a Fairfax home care agency and its owners to pay more than $1.6 million in back wages and liquidated damages to 202 home health aides in a consent judgment obtained by the U.S. Department of Labor.