LOS ANGELES, CA – The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has ordered Gary Tetone, owner of Southern California-based company GT Drywall, to comply with U.S. Department of Labor investigators in a long-running Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation with which he has refused to cooperate since 2016.

BLUEFIELD, WV - The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia has entered a consent judgment requiring Lambert Construction of Bluefield Inc. to pay $116,818 in back wages and liquidated damages to 45 employees. Additionally, the Bluefield, West Virginia, construction company will pay $16,000 in civil penalties to resolve overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) found in a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.

LOS ANGELES, CA – Following a U.S. Department of Labor investigation that found overtime and minimum wage violations, prompting the Department to invoke a “hot goods” legal action, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has issued a temporary restraining order to prevent a Los Angeles garment manufacturer from shipping clothes to retailer Charlotte Russe.

WESTBURY, NY – After an investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, Farmingdale Auto Collision Inc. and its owner and officers have paid $306,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 21 employees to resolve violations of the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

PHILADELPHIA, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor has established a hotline for 1,471 current and former Houlihan’s employees of 17 of the restaurant chain’s New Jersey and New York locations to assist them in recovering back wages and liquidated damages.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) announced today that it has issued three new opinion letters.

GREEN BAY, WI – In an effort to inform employers and employees about federal wage laws, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is engaged in an education and enforcement initiative at Green Bay-area restaurants. WHD is focused on providing compliance assistance information to employers and industry stakeholders through educational outreach events, as well as conducting investigations at individual restaurants.

CHATTANOOGA, TN – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, Chattanooga-based Chao’s Mongolian Grill LLC will pay $48,197 in back wages to eight employees for violations of the minimum wage, overtime, and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

ALBANY, NY – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation, Georgia contractor Infinite Services and Solutions and its president, Khary Lewis, who provided transportation services for the U.S. Army in New York and Arizona, have been placed on a list of bidders ineligible for federal contracts for a period of three years as a result of violations of the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA).

GUAYNABO, PR – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), fuel distributor Macro Companies Inc., engaged in hurricane recovery activities in Puerto Rico, has paid $1,151,291 in back wages to 219 employees for violating the overtime provisions of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA), the fringe benefits provisions of the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA), and the recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

FRESNO, CA – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation, Central Valley garlic grower Valley Garlic Inc. and its farm labor contractor X-Treme Ag Labor Inc. have signed consent judgments, entered by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Fresno. The U.S. Department of Labor sued Valley Garlic Inc. and X-Treme Ag Labor Inc. for being jointly responsible in a June 2015 crash that took the lives of four farmworkers who were being transported to work, including a 16-year-old minor.

WHITES CREEK, TN – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee has ordered Music City Masonry Contractors LLC and its owners, Brandy George and Robin “Bubba” Waller, to pay $493,987 in back wages and liquidated damages to 247 employees for violating the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WASHINGTON, DC – With the inclusion of key provisions related to America’s tipped workers included in the recently passed Consolidated Appropriations Act, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has issued a Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) to address WHD’s enforcement of tip credit rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

TAMPA, FL – Investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division into rebuilding efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma have resulted in 11 roofing companies paying $239,893 in back wages to 259 employees for violations of the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

CAMDEN, NJ – Two companies that operate 17 Houlihan’s franchisee restaurants in New Jersey and New York and their owner Arnold Runestad will pay $5,000,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 1,471 current and former employees to resolve a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The agreement is part of a consent judgment filed on April 2, 2018, that is pending review and approval by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

HONOLULU, HI – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation, the owners of four Ichiriki Japanese Nabe Restaurants on Oahu will pay $60,721 in overtime owed to 62 employees to resolve pay violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

LUMBERTON, NC – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, a U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina has ordered Del Sol Partnership 2 Inc. and its owner, Pablo Salgado, to pay $144,884 in back wages and liquidated damages to 15 employees for violating the overtime, minimum wage, and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WESTBURY, NY – After an investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York has ordered Casa Concrete Inc., a provider of concrete services, and its officers, Alice Fernandes and Manuel Fernandes, to pay $412,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 20 employees for violating the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

ATLANTA, GA – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation, Insight Global LLC will pay $354,978 in back wages to 14 employees for violating provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA). The Atlanta-based staffing and consulting company committed the violations during performance as a subcontractor to Hewlett Packard on an information technology contract with the U.S. Department of the Navy.

URBANDALE, IA – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation, majority owner of two Iowa restaurants Gloria Ochoa has paid $833,992 in back wages to 64 employees to resolve federal wage violations, including falsifying payroll and time records and failing to pay required minimum wages and overtime. Wage and Hour Division investigators determined that Ochoa, majority owner of Rojas LLC and Ocha Inc., which do business as El Rodeo Mexican Restaurants in Urbandale and in Clive, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).