MCGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE, NJ – A widespread investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor has recovered nearly $16 million in back wages and restored over 24,700 paid sick leave hours to leave banks for more than 2,800 workers denied their full wages and benefits by 62 subcontractors hired to construct temporary housing and provide services to Afghan refugees at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey.

PHILADELPHIA – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment in federal court that requires a Philadelphia home healthcare agency and its owner to pay approximately $1.6 million in back wages and liquidated damages to 288 workers deliberately denied overtime pay.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a final rule to help employers and workers better understand when a worker qualifies as an employee and when they may be considered an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an investigation recovered more than $1 million in back wages and damages — its largest settlement to date for California garment workers — for 165 workers after finding a Los Angeles garment contractor denied them overtime wages illegally and then tried to conceal the wage theft. 

FLORENCE, WI – Despite federal regulations barring young workers from operating dangerous machinery, the management of a Wisconsin sawmill allowed several minors workers to perform maintenance on equipment without training or following required safety procedures.

On June 29, 2023, a 16-year-old worker became trapped in a stick stacker machine as he tried to unjam it. The young worker remained trapped until he was found and freed, and then transported to the hospital where he passed away two days later. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the final rule to implement the requirements of Executive Order 14055, “Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts,” which seeks to prevent the displacement of skilled and experienced workers in the federal services workforce.

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.

WASHINGTON – As the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division and Office of the Solicitor continue to find serious illegal employment practices in the meat and poultry processing industries, a California poultry processor and supplier to supermarkets and food distributors — including Ralphs, ALDI, Grocery Outlet and SYSCO Corp.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $11.4 million in back wages and liquidated damages for more than 1,000 employees of an East Coast restaurant chain after a series of investigations and litigation by the department. 

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. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the implementation of a final rule that modernizes Davis-Bacon Act and Davis-Bacon and Related Acts regulations to reflect the needs of construction workers on federally funded projects better.

SEATTLE – A federal investigation into employees working off-the-clock during meal breaks by one of the world’s largest security and facility services providers led to the recovery of nearly $1.1 million in back wages and liquidated damages for 778 employees and a nationwide enhanced agreement to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime and recordkeeping provisions.

CHANDLER, MN – A national food manufacturer paid $140,164 in civil money penalties after the U.S. Department of Labor found the company employed at least 11 children – nine of whom operated hazardous machinery – at its meatpacking and food processing facility in Chandler, Minnesota.

SANTA MARIA, CA – A federal court has entered a consent judgment that orders a Santa Maria farm labor contractor to pay more than $1 million in back wages and penalties after the U.S. Department of Labor found the employer again violated regulations of the H-2A agricultural worker program.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced today that the department’s Wage and Hour Division and the EEOC signed a formal partnership that will enhance and maximize the enforcement of federal laws and regulations.

GREEN BAY, WI – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a federal consent order and judgment against sawmill operator Florence Hardwoods LLC following the death of a child. The order requires the Florence County company to place labels and signage to prevent children under age 18 from using dangerous equipment and entering the company’s sawmill and planer buildings.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a notice of proposed rulemaking that would restore and extend overtime protections to 3.6 million salaried workers. The proposed rule would guarantee overtime pay for most salaried workers earning less than $1,059 per week, about $55,000 per year.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that it will offer online compliance seminars in September for contracting agencies, contractors, unions, workers and other stakeholders to provide information on recent updates to regulations governing employment practices for federally funded contracts.

DURHAM, NC – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered more than $1.6 million in back wages and liquidated damages for 188 workers, many of them denied minimum and overtime wages by a North Carolina construction services contractor who misclassified the employees as independent contractors.