SAN FRANCISCO – A San Leandro-based human resources outsource provider will pay $1 million in back overtime wages and damages combined to hundreds of employees after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation that found widespread Fair Labor Standards Act violations.

Employer: ViaSource Solutions Inc., formerly INW Contact LLC, a call-center provider to businesses that market products on television infomercials

Location: 223 East Thousand Oaks Blvd., Suite 222, Thousand Oaks, California

Employer: C and D’s Guest Homes, Inc., provider of residential care services for adults with developmental disabilities, doing business as C and D’s Guest Home and New Horizon’s Residential

Employer: Litke Investments LLC, a San Francisco-based real estate investment enterprise, acquires, maintains and manages hotels and residential apartments.

Sites: Numerous hotels and apartments operating under various legal and trade names in California, Texas, Oregon and North Dakota.

Investigation findings: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Litke Investments:

BOSTON – The U.S. Department of Labor is suing two Gloucester fish processing companies and their owner for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Zeus Packing Inc., Cape Ann  Seafood Exchange and owner Kristian Kristensen owed $203,998 in unpaid wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages totaling $407,996  to 132 workers for the period October 2011 through September 2014.

NEW YORK – Nail salon workers in one of the world’s largest cities work hard to serve their customers. At the same time, they are what the U.S. Department of Labor refers to as vulnerable workers – unaware of their rights, sometimes with language barriers, or reluctant to step forward to complain.

Employers: Elite Energy Efficiency

Sites: 669 Quinn Road #1, Pocatello, Idaho

Investigation findings: Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that Elite Energy Efficiency violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by misclassifying employees as independent contractors even though:

Employer: Joined, Inc., an academic recruitment, technology and curriculum services provider

Sites: 2010 Main St., Suite 550 Irvine, California

Investigation findings: Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that Joined, Inc. missed paying wages to staff in several pay periods. The company blamed clients who failed to pay for services rendered and a slowdown in company business.

Participants: U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division
Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – More than 40,000 hospital workers at Mercy Health System and affiliated locations around the nation are no longer required to have their health care providers answer a litany of unnecessary and illegal questions before requesting leave for their own serious health conditions or to care for a family member.

Employer name: 929 Restaurant Corp., doing business as Clairmont Diner

Investigation site: 929 Yonkers Ave., Yonkers, New York

Investigation findings: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that the Clairmont Diner violated the minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Investigators found the employer  

Date of action: Feb. 18, 2016

Type of action: Order granting Wage and Hour Division’s motion for summary decision

Names of defendant: Overdevest Nurseries LP, wholesale grower of plants, shrubs, trees and flower

HOBBS, N.M. – Nova Mud Inc., Nova Hardbanding LLC and Nova Sand LLC have paid $1.5 million – $750,000 in back wages and an additional, equal amount in liquidated damages – to 241 oil well service workers after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. All three commonly owned and operated businesses violated overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act Consent Judgment

Name of Defendants:

Employer name: Toria’s Adult Living Facilities I & II, doing business as Toria’s Support Care Services Inc.

Investigation site: 3702 E. Osborne Ave., Tampa, Florida 33619

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act Lawsuit Filing

Names of Defendants: Salsitas, Inc. doing business as Salsitas Mexican Restaurant & Cantina, and Oscar McBenttes

PHOENIX – The U.S. Department of Labor sued a Phoenix-based pallet manufacturer after an investigation found that the company employed a combination of tactics to circumvent federal labor laws, including using fictitious names for workers, improperly labeling others as ‘vendors,’ and routinely destroying time cards at the end of each pay period.

DALLAS – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has added four companies and an additional $1.6 million in back wages for more than 2,500 employees as its effort to improve labor law compliance in the oil and gas industry continues.

TAMPA, Fla. – Assisted living facilities are often judged by how well they care for their patients – but how well are they caring for their workers?

Employer: Plant Engineering Services LLC

Site: 1 Fluor Daniel Drive, Sugar Land, Texas