TROY, NY – An upstate New York court accepted a mine manager’s guilty plea today to manslaughter in the second degree, a Class C felony. Anthony Valente, a mine manager at a Grafton limestone quarry, admitted to causing Darren Miller’s death in October 2022 by recklessly disregarding and overriding safety features of a crane Valente was operating, which resulted in a piece of the crane striking Miller, a 35-year-old mechanic, and causing his death. The manager agreed to serve a six-month jail sentence and five years of probation.

Date of action:           April 15, 2024

Type of action:          Consent judgment and order  

Court:                            U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. 

CAMDEN, NJ – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement agreement with one of the East Coast's largest auto recyclers and used parts suppliers affirming 35 citations issued for workplace safety violations at its Camden facility and assessing related penalties.

SEATTLE - Un tribunal federal ha ordenado a un productor de coronas navideñas para su venta por grandes comercios, incluidos Costco, Publix, Target, Trader Joe’s, Walmart y Wegmans, pagar $1.85 millones en salarios atrasados y daños a casi 700 trabajadores después de que el Departamento de Trabajo de Estados Unidos descubriera que el empleador no pagó los salarios de horas extras requeridos y vulneró los derechos de los trabajadores migrantes y de temporada.

IONIA, MI ‒ The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered a total of $110,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for six employees of an Ionia hotel, including two who worked there for more than 40 hours per week for nearly 10 months without pay. The couple thought they were working in exchange for free lodging at the hotel, but the hotel still charged them for their stay on some nights they worked.

Employers:    Neubert Painting Inc., Brook Park, Ohio

                         John Neubert, owner

Action:           U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation

Employers:    GoldStar Amusements Inc., owner Michael Featherston, Fairbault, Minnesota

                         Lee’s Concessions Inc., owner Connie Featherston, Fairbault, Minnesota          

Action:           U.S. Department of Labor Administrative Law Judge decision

Court:             U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Administrative Law Judges, Cincinnati, Ohio

BOSTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent preliminary injunction and order in federal court forbidding a Framingham restaurant and its owner from threatening or retaliating against employees and interfering with the department’s ongoing litigation.

Employers:    Red Oak Tree Service Inc., Crystal Lake, Illinois

                        Humberto Gonzalez, owner

Action:           U.S. Department of Labor complaint filing

Court:             U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Western Division (Rockford)

HO-HO-KUS, NJ – Vigorous litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor has convinced a New York roofing company to stop contesting the egregious willful and other citations it received and the $687,536 penalty assessed after a 2022 workplace safety investigation at a Ho-Ho-Kus worksite. 

BALTIMORE – U.S. Department of Labor investigations at four northern Virginia Jersey Mike’s franchise locations have found the operator allowed more than a dozen employees under the age of 16 to perform dangerous tasks and work longer than permitted in violation of federal child labor regulations.

GAINESVILLE, GA – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a federal court complaint against a Lawrenceville pesticide and agricultural chemical manufacturer after the company allegedly terminated a worker’s employment in retaliation for filing a safety and health complaint with the department. 

BOSTON – A federal court in Boston entered a consent judgment in May of 2023, ordering two Middlesex County employment staffing agencies and their owners to pay a total of $256,992 in back wages and liquidated damages to 238 current and former employees who were placed with businesses in Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. 

BOSTON – Un tribunal federal de Boston dictó una sentencia acordada por las partes en mayo de 2023, en la que ordenó a dos agencias de reclutamiento del condado de Middlesex y a sus propietarios pagar un total de $256,992 en concepto de salarios atrasados e indemnización por daños y perjuicios a 238 empleados actuales y exempleados que ocupaban puestos en empresas de Maine, Massachusetts y New Hampshire.

PARK HILLS, MO – A Park Hills vegetable farming and packing operation will pay $479,983 in back wages to 208 workers, following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

NEW YORK – An East Patchogue construction contractor will pay $144,000 in penalties and implement enhanced compliance actions and policies to reduce workplace hazards for its companies’ and subcontractors’ employees as part of a stipulated settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor.

BOSTON – When the owner of three Tutti Frutti frozen yogurt shops in Massachusetts and New Hampshire terminated an employee who asserted their rights to the tips they had earned, the company violated anti-retaliation provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and found themselves facing costly consequences after a U.S.

EVANSVILLE, IN – After learning an Evansville employer has engaged in an ongoing attempt to deprive current and former employees of the money found due to them following a federal wage investigation, the U.S. Department of Labor asked a federal court to issue a temporary restraining order and injunction against Friendship Diner LLC and its owner, Bardhyl Shabani, and award punitive damages to employees. 

Date of action:           Feb. 1, 2024

HENRY, TN – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a complaint and motion seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent a Henry County farm from allegedly retaliating against two workers who asked about their wages, a protected activity under the Fair Labor Standards Act.