BATON ROUGE, La. – A Louisiana subcontractor was paying laborer’s wages to Karl Fusilier, a plumber working on the $8 million, federally funded Choctaw Lodge project in Baton Rouge. While the law requires his employer to pay him and co-workers as plumbers for skilled plumbing work, U.S. Department of Labor investigators say the subcontractor misclassified the three as “laborers,” cheating them of nearly $11 per hour.

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act consent judgment

Names of Defendants: Tian Li Restaurant Inc., doing business as Ming Ten Restaurant
Jin Ling Ren
Shi Ju Xing

Complaint: Under terms of a consent judgment, Tian Li Restaurant Inc., operating as Ming Ten Restaurant in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and its owners and managers, Jin Ling Ren and Shi Ju Xing, have agreed to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act’s recordkeeping requirements.

Type of Action: Consent judgment

Defendant(s): Ferry Carpets Inc., Alina Lolo, and Antonio Lolo

Resolution: Flooring company Ferry Carpets Inc. will pay 15 employees $140,000 in back wages and $140,000 in liquidated damages under the terms of a consent judgment entered in a U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark on May 24.

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $189,000 in unpaid wages and overtime for 28  carpenters and laborers who worked on the federally funded West 131st St. Cluster Project in Harlem between April 2009 and April 2010. This was the result of a joint enforcement effort with the office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in which the two agencies shared information and worked collaboratively on behalf of workers in New York. The attorney general’s investigation continues.

SAN FRANCISCO – A federal judge has ordered the owner of a Bay Area taxi and limousine service to pay a collective $175,000 in back wages and damages to dozens of drivers who the company misclassified as independent contractors and failed to pay minimum wage and overtime pay as federal law requires. 

Employer: Molina Healthcare of New Mexico Inc.

Site: 400 Tijeras SE, Suite 200, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Employer: Federico’s Mexican Food Restaurant

Sites: 4014 North 43 Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona
3730 West Happy Valley Road, Suite 109, Glendale, Arizona
20429 North Lake Pleasant, Suite 101, Peoria, Arizona
7410 South 35 Avenue, Laveen, Arizona

SEATTLE – The next time you enjoy an apple, a pear, a cherry or some other fruit, think for a moment about the people whose labor brought it to your table. From sun-up to sundown, these men and women exchange low wages earned in fields and packing houses for hard work and sore bodies.

Employer names: MV Petro LCC, doing business as, End of the Road Chevron
JJB Petro LCC, doing business as, Country Freeze Food Mart

Investigation sites: 3565 Laurendine Road, Theodore, Alabama 36582
3860 Turnbull Court, Mobile, Alabama 36619

Employer name: Perfect Service Excellent Benefits Services Inc.

Investigation site: 7475 West Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, Kissimmee, Florida 34747

Who: U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division

What: Seminar on prevailing wage requirements in federal contracts and service agreements

When: Tuesday, June 14, 2016: Check-in at 8 a.m., presentation from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, June 15, 2016: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, June 16, 2016: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
(All times are MDT.)

Where: Hotel Cascada
2500 Carlisle Blvd. NE
Albuquerque, NM 87110

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act consent judgment

Defendant(s): Expertize Masonry Inc., Pawel Walaszek

Employers: Harold E. Nutter & Son Inc., an electrical federal contractor

Sites: Napa Valley Wine Train Relocation Project, Napa, California
Beale Air Force Base, Child Development Center, Beale AFB, California
Folsom Dam Project, Folsom, California
Beale Air Force Dock 4 Repair, Beale AFB, California
Beale Air Force Base Dock 1, Beale AFB, California
Ft. Irwin Barracks Complex, Ft. Irwin, California
U.S. Armed Forces Reserve Center, Vancouver, Washington

Employers: Sanchez Recycling, Inc.

Sites: 2018 East Orangeview, Placentia, California (Main office/yard)
1459 South Anaheim Blvd., Anaheim, California
1130 West 6^th St., Corona, California
2560 North Perris Blvd., Perris, California

Employer name: Street’s Seafood Restaurant

Investigation site: 251 Highway 31, Bay Minette, Alabama 36507

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act consent judgment

Name of Defendants: H&H Lawn Service and Snowplowing LLC, Muskegon, Michigan
Darrell Hinken

Investigation Findings: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found the company and its owner Darrell Hinken violated the FLSA’s overtime and record keeping provisions. 

ARLINGTON, Va. – A suburban Washington, D.C.-area restaurant and its owners have entered into an agreement ensuring that they would not intimidate or retaliate against employees who cooperate with a U.S. Department of Labor wage and hour investigation and subsequent ongoing litigation. The owners also agreed to stop soliciting “waivers” from employees to relinquish their rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

MADISON, Wis. – In a town where images of the state university’s mascot “Bucky Badger” are common in restaurants and hotels alike, U.S. Department of Labor investigators are actively engaged in an education and enforcement effort to make sure employers do not deny hospitality workers the “bucks” they have earned legally.

Employer’s names: Red Diamond Enterprises Inc., doing business as Red Diamond Farms
German “Javier” Torres, president and owner

Investigation sites: Wimauma, Sarasota, Quincy and West Palm Beach, Florida