HOUSTON — Imagine living on less than $300 a week in an area where a month's rent averages $1,000 or more. That's a reality for many workers in specialty grocery stores in Houston, reports the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division. The finding results from a multiyear enforcement initiative by the division that found widespread minimum wage and overtime violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Employers: Jan Charles Gray, individually and Mount Rushmore Broadcasting, Inc., All American Inn - Glenrock, and American President Resorts.

Sites: Mount Rushmore Broadcasting, Inc., in Casper, Wyoming; All American Inn - Glenrock in Glenrock, Wyoming; and American President Resorts in Custer, South Dakota.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The owner of two East Rutherford, New Jersey, companies will pay $322,094 in back wages and penalties after U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found the companies willfully violated a provision of the H-1B visa program, which allows guest workers to be temporarily employed in the United States.

Employer: Saipan Hotel Corporation, doing business as Hafadai Beach Hotel

Site: Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands

SEATTLE — Although a Bellingham restaurant and a spa have closed, 101 workers once employed by the businesses will receive more than $1.3 million in back wages and damages, thanks to a Washington State jury. The decision is the result of a U.S. Department of Labor investigation that revealed numerous violations of federal labor law.

Date of Action: March 11, 2015

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendants: MAGIC TOUCH CLEANING, INC. and GARY WALKER, individually.

Allegations: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found Magic Touch Cleaning Inc., a janitorial services company in Lee's Summit, Missouri, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

SEATTLE — Although a Bellingham restaurant and a spa have closed, 101 workers once employed by the businesses will receive more than $1.3 million in back wages and damages, thanks to a Washington State jury. The decision is the result of a U.S. Department of Labor investigation that revealed numerous violations of federal labor law.

SEATTLE — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez today announced that the labor department's Wage and Hour Division will begin to exercise its authority to certify applications for trafficking victims seeking "T" visas. The division will also certify "U" visa requests when it detects three additional qualifying criminal activities in the course of its workplace investigations: extortion, forced labor, and fraud in foreign labor contracting. The announcement was made at a roundtable on new American integration in Seattle hosted by OneAmerica.

HONOLULU — A federal electrical contractor, Lighting Services Inc. will pay 38 electricians/technicians more than $1.2 million in back wages after U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division investigators determined the company did not pay required prevailing wages to workers at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe Bay. The division also found the employer submitted falsified payrolls and told workers to provide false information to investigators.

HONOLULU — A federal electrical contractor, Lighting Services Inc. will pay 38 electricians/technicians more than $1.2 million in back wages after U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division investigators determined the company did not pay required prevailing wages to workers at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe Bay. The division also found the employer submitted falsified payrolls and told workers to provide false information to investigators.

Date of Action: March 30, 2015

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendants: Krenek Motors Inc., 6542 Ryno Rd, Coloma, MI 49038 d/b/a Krenek RV and Scott Krenek

Employer name: CMG Holding Company, LLC d/b/a/ Cilantro Mexican Grill.

Investigation sites: 1255 Reservoir Ave., Cranston; 127 Weybosset St, Providence; 430 Newport Ave, Rumford;1650 Mineral Spring Ave, Providence; 166 JT Connell Highway, Newport; 712 Center of New England Boulevard, Coventry; 1759 Post Road, Warwick.

DETROIT — Workers in the hotel industry are hard-working people who make our beds, clean our rooms, maintain the property and greet us with a smile. Many of them earn low wages and often struggle to meet their basic needs. This challenge is made even more difficult when employers fail to pay them for all the hours they worked.

Employer: Raymond's Ridgewood LLC, restaurant owner

Sites: Raymond's restaurants located at 101 East Ridgewood Ave., Ridgewood, N.J., and 28 Church Street in Montclair, N.J.

Type of Action: Default Judgment

Respondents: Farm labor contractor Heng Heng Agency, Inc., and its owner Visith Oum

ALBUQUERQUE — A day's work in an oilfield usually means long hours in physically demanding and exhausting conditions. Industry workers deserve every penny of their hard-earned wages. In the oil-and-gas-rich Southwest, the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division is making sure these workers get their pay. Since it launched an enforcement initiative covering New Mexico and west Texas in 2014, the agency has recovered more than $1.3 million owed to more than 1,300 workers.

Date of Action: March 6, 2015

Type of Action: FLSA lawsuit

Names of Defendants: DT & C Global Management LLC d/b/a/ Town & Country Limousine, John Jansen, William Lynch

MOUNTAINSIDE, N.J. — In the past five years, more than 1,100 attendants at Shell, Exxon, BP and other leading brand gas stations in New Jersey have been denied the minimum wage and, in some cases, overtime pay. These workers have received $5.5 million in back wages and damages recovered thanks to a multiyear enforcement initiative conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.

MOUNTAINSIDE, N.J. — In the past five years, more than 1,100 attendants at Shell, Exxon, BP and other leading brand gas stations in New Jersey have been denied the minimum wage and, in some cases, overtime pay. These workers have received $5.5 million in back wages and damages recovered thanks to a multiyear enforcement initiative conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico — Alpha Guards Management Inc. provides security guards to ensure the safety of employees of businesses and government agencies in Puerto Rico. Yet, the San Juan-based employer failed to protect its own employees by violating their right to a fair day's pay for a fair day's work.