January 26, 2018

U.S. Department of Labor Reaches Settlement Agreement With 10 Orange County Residential Care Facilities, Requiring Payment of $173,539 to 72 Employees

SAN DIEGO, CA – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached an agreement with the owner of 10 Orange County residential care facilities to pay 72 employees a total of $173,539 for unpaid overtime.

January 19, 2018

Santa Rosa Area Restaurants to Pay $295,909 in Back Wages and Damages To 28 Employees in Agreement With U.S. Department of Labor

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Three Santa Rosa area restaurants have reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor to pay 28 employees $147,954 in back wages, and an equal amount in liquidated damages, to resolve federal wage violations. The employer will also pay $15,115 in penalties.

January 19, 2018

Detroit Security Company Agrees to Pay $67,068 to 25 Employees After U.S. Department of Labor Finds Overtime Violations

DETROIT, MI – The U.S. Department of Labor and a Detroit security company have reached an agreement to resolve overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), including payment of $33,534 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages – totaling $67,068– owed to 25 security guards.

The Department’s Wage and Hour Division found Eagle Security Services failed to comply with the FLSA’s overtime and recording-keeping provisions.

January 19, 2018

Georgia Concrete Company to Pay $179,314 in Back Wages After U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Finds Overtime Violations

MARIETTA, GA – A residential concrete design and installation company will pay $179,314 in back wages to 37 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found Marietta-based TCB Grading Inc. violated the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Wage and Hour Division investigators found that TCB Grading Inc. paid employees straight-time, instead of the required time-and-one-half, for hours they worked beyond 40 in a workweek. The employer also failed to maintain accurate time and payroll records.

January 19, 2018

Fontana, California, Pallet Company to Pay $289,215 in Back Wages and Damages for Overtime Violations

WEST COVINA, CA – The U.S. Department of Labor and a Fontana pallet manufacturing company have reached an agreement to resolve overtime and recordkeeping violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The agreement requires Forest Green Products Inc. to pay $289,215 in back wages and liquidated damages to 60 employees.

Investigators with the Department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Forest Green Products Inc. failed to pay required overtime rates when its employees worked more than 40 hours per week.

January 19, 2018

Washington Fruit Grower to Pay $78,000 in Back Wages and Penalties for Hiring and Pay Violations in U.S. Department of Labor Settlement

SEATTLE, WA – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement with a Washington tree fruit grower to resolve violations of the H-2A non-immigrant visa program under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The settlement requires Tonasket-based Northwestern LLC to pay $60,000 in back wages to 112 employees, and an additional $18,000 in penalties to the Department.

January 18, 2018

Fairfield Restaurant to Pay $247,922 in Wages, Damages and Penalties for Overtime, Minimum Wage, and Recordkeeping Violations

HARTFORD, CT – The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut has entered a consent judgment and ordered a Fairfield restaurant and its owner to pay $244,930 in back wages and liquidated damages to eight employees, as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

January 18, 2018

U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division to Participate in SBA/SCORE Entrepreneur and Small Business Outreach Event in Buffalo

BUFFALO, NY – On Jan. 20, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division will participate in a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and Service Corps of Retired Executives’ (SCORE) event to provide information and resources to entrepreneurs and small business owners on starting or growing a small business. 

The “Straight Talk 2018” seminar, sponsored by the SBA’s Buffalo District Office and SCORE’s Buffalo Niagara chapter, will be held at Buffalo Niagara Convention Center, Convention Center Plaza, in Buffalo, from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

January 16, 2018

U.S. Labor Department Offers Free Compliance Assistance Seminars For Georgia Agricultural Employers and Farm Labor Contractors

VIDALIA, GA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division will host free compliance assistance seminars for Georgia agricultural employers and farm labor contractors to promote compliance with the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) and the labor provisions of the H-2A temporary worker program.

January 10, 2018

California Drywall Company Pays $944,000 In Back Wages and Damages for Overtime Violations

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Following a U.S. Department of Labor investigation, a Riverside, California, company has paid $944,000 in back wages and damages to 1,069 employees working as drywall installers and painters. The investigation found that the employees routinely worked more than 40 hours per week without receiving any required overtime pay.

January 9, 2018

Denver Landscaper Pays $550,167 in Back Wages and Penalties Following U.S. Department of Labor Investigation

DENVER, CO – Parkside Landscape Inc. has paid $524,063 in back wages to 53 employees and $26,104 in penalties to resolve violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and H-2B non-agricultural visa program provisions. The violations were found during an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

January 5, 2018

U.S. Department of Labor Clarifies When Interns Working at For-Profit Employers Are Subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act

WASHINGTON, DC – On Dec. 19, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit became the fourth federal appellate court to expressly reject the U.S. Department of Labor’s six-part test for determining whether interns and students are employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). 

January 3, 2018

Tacoma Property Management Company to Pay $255,793 in Back Wages To Employees in U.S. Department of Labor Agreement

SEATTLE, WA – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached an agreement with a Tacoma property management company that requires the employer to pay 71 employees $255,793 in back wages to resolve Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violations.

December 27, 2017

U.S. Department of Labor Recovered $1.6 Million in Back Wages and Damages for Area Garment Industry Employees This Year

LOS ANGELES, CA – Investigations in Southern California by the U.S. Department of Labor have found $1.6 million in back wages and liquidated damages due to 1,377 garment industry employees since January. Those amounts resulted from violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) found in 94 percent of 129 Wage and Hour Division investigations of garment facilities in the region during that period.

The Department also assessed an additional $36,000 in civil money penalties associated with those investigations.

December 22, 2017

Maine Vegetable Farm Pays $10,164 Penalty and Amends Hiring and Pay Practices in U.S. Department of Labor Agreement

MANCHESTER, NH – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement with a Maine vegetable farm after an investigation found that it willfully violated terms of the H-2B non-immigrant visa program under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Under the settlement agreement, Green Thumb Farms Inc. of Fryeburg has paid $10,164 in penalties to the Department and agreed to comply with the law, applicable H-2B regulations, and the obligations agreed and attested to in all of its temporary employment certification applications.

December 21, 2017

West Virginia Nursing Home Operator to Pay $123,680 in Back Wages, Damages After U.S. Department of Labor Investigation

CHARLESTON, WV – The U.S. Department of Labor and a West Virginia nursing home and rehabilitation company have reached an agreement to resolve alleged overtime violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Stonerise Healthcare LLC will pay $61,840 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 498 healthcare employees at 16 facilities in West Virginia.

December 21, 2017

Pennsylvania Manufacturer to Pay $377,144 to 47 Employees Following Investigation by U.S. Department of Labor

ATGLEN, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor and a Pennsylvania manufacturing company reached an agreement to resolve alleged overtime, recordkeeping, and child labor violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Stoltzfus Structures LLC will pay $188,572 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 47 employees. The company also has been assessed, and has not contested, a penalty in the amount of $30,800 for violations of the child labor provisions of the FLSA.

December 21, 2017

New Hampshire Man Pleads Guilty to Obstruction of Justice in Connection with U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Investigation, and Lawsuit

CONCORD, NH – A New Hampshire man has pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of obstruction of justice in connection with a U.S. Department of Labor wage and hour investigation and litigation. It is believed to be the first federal criminal prosecution arising from a Department wage and hour investigation in New Hampshire.

December 19, 2017

Security Company to Pay $277,306 in Back Wages After U.S. Department of Labor Investigation

LOUISVILLE, KY – American Security Programs Inc., a security service providing armed guards, will pay $277,306 in back wages to 61 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found the company violated the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA), the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standard Act (CWHSSA), and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

December 15, 2017

Owner of 6 New Jersey Gas Stations Pays $1,471,024 In Back Wages and Damages to Employees

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – The owner of six southern New Jersey gas stations has paid $1,471,024 in back wages and damages to 24 gas station attendants to resolve violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).