PITTSBURGH – In return for providing essential homecare for people in need, 218 workers employed by a Pittsburgh-based home care agency expected their employer to pay them all their hard-earned wages. Instead, they found their employer denied them overtime wages, and manipulated records to hide the wage theft.     

Employer:                                        Wooden Shoe Farms

Investigation site:                       673 North 825 West

                                                             Blackfoot, ID 83221

ROCHESTER, NY – A federal investigation has recovered $228,379 in back wages for 260 employees of a Rochester-based home healthcare agency that denied them overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek.

HEBRON, KY – The initial discovery of illegal pay practices at a Hebron, Kentucky, warehouse by the U.S. Department of Labor led to a broader investigation that found systemic overtime violations by a California-based warehouse operator and e-commerce distributor, and a determination that the employer owes $1,025,909 in back wages to 995 warehouse workers in Kentucky and California.

NUEVA ORLEANS - Una investigación federal sobre cheques de nómina rechazados de 10 trabajadores de la construcción que renovaban un hogar para ancianos en Panama City, Florida descubrió que el empleador que emitía los cheques inválidos también negaba a más de 800 trabajadores los salarios por horas extras al clasificarlos como contratistas independientes.

WASHINGTON –The U.S. Department of Labor will begin a series of events in August to highlight the importance of maternal health and workplace protections for expectant and new mothers as the country marks National Breastfeeding Month.  

NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Department of Labor has found that the wages of hundreds of painters and drywall workers employed by a Louisiana contractor on construction projects, including work at New Orleans’ Superdome, were tackled for a loss when their employer misclassified the workers as independent contractors, a common industry violation.

NEW ORLEANS – A federal investigation into the bounced payroll checks of 10 construction workers renovating a nursing home in Panama City, Florida, found the employer who issued the bad checks had also denied more than 800 workers overtime wages by misclassifying them as independent contractors.

CLEVELAND, TN – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $374,493 wages and liquidated damages for 62 construction workers employed by a Cleveland contractor that denied them overtime wages when required by federal law, and jeopardized the safety of an 11-year-old by employing them as a groundskeeper allowed to operate dangerous equipment.

HONOLULU – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has recovered $156,837 in back wages from a Honolulu contractor who paid 46 workers lower wages than the law allows for the type of work they performed under federal contracts awarded by U.S. Marine Corps, Navy, Army and Coast Guard in Hawaii.

LOUISVILLE, KY – The U.S. Department of Labor recovered $130,879 in back wages and liquidated damages for 68 workers after a Beattyville-based food services contractor failed to pay their full wages by incorrectly applying overtime rules for managers.

Employer:                                          Brito Enterprises of Tampa Inc.

                                                            Operating as Chick-Fil-A Tampa Stadium

                                                            2551 North Dale Mabry Hwy

                                                            Tampa, FL 33607

WASHINGTON – In the summer months, many employers hire young workers to meet increased demand. Across the nation in 2022, millions of teenagers are working in the agriculture, food services, retail, recreation and construction industries. At the same time, increases in child labor violations has the U.S. Department of Labor stepping up employer outreach and enforcement actions to help employers prevent young workers’ jobs from jeopardizing their safety, health or educational opportunities.

HOUSTON - Una investigación del Departamento de Trabajo de EE. UU. ha recuperado $178,358 en salarios por horas extras atrasados para 27 trabajadores de una empresa de soldadura y fabricación de Houston que los clasificaba erróneamente como contratistas independientes y les negaba sus salarios y beneficios completos.

HOUSTON – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $178,358 in overtime back wages for 27 employees of a Houston welding and fabrication company that misclassified them as independent contractors and denied them their full wages and benefits.

SEATTLE – The U.S. Department of Labor has debarred an East Wenatchee orchard operator for three years from participation in a federal program that allows employment of temporary agricultural workers from outside the U.S. after investigators determined that the employer provided unsafe and unhealthy housing, failed to provide work promised in workers’ contracts, and subjected workers to verbal abuse and threats.

SAN JOSE, CA – Denying their workers overtime pay when required has had costly consequences for the operators of six northern California pizza franchise locations from whom the U.S. Department of Labor has recovered a total of $608,272 in back wages and liquidated damages for 33 workers.

Employer:                                          LI&YU Restaurant LLC, operating as 

                                                                 Bao Bao House

Investigation site:                       868 West Park St.

                                                               Eugene, OR 97401

MINNEAPOLIS – An administrative law judge has dismissed a Minnesota company’s notice of contest and affirmed the U.S. Department of Labor finding that the employer violated a federal program that allows foreign, non-agricultural workers with H-2B visas to temporarily work in the U.S.

HAVELOCK, NC – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $268,014 in back wages for 63 workers of a Reston, Virginia, technical and engineering contractor who denied them a portion of their wages and benefits while they worked on a Department of Defense project in Havelock.