COLUMBIA, SC – A South Carolina restaurant group has paid $618,666 in back wages to 779 employees and an additional $100,000 in civil money penalties after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found child labor and wage violations across 13 restaurant locations.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found tip pool, recordkeeping, and overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act at multiple Tropical Grille locations. This included allowing managers and supervisors to participate in the restaurants’ tip pool, which is expressly prohibited under the FLSA. In addition, the employer failed to combine all hours worked for employees at various locations, which led to some workers not receiving time and one-half their regular rates of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

The division also determined that Tropical Grille Restaurants violated the hazardous occupation provisions of the FLSA and allowed 14- and 15-year-olds to work longer and later than legally permitted by federal child labor laws.

The division recovered $618,666 in back wages for 779 workers across 13 Tropical Grille locations in Anderson, Clemson, Easley, Greer, Lexington, Mauldin, Simpsonville, and Spartanburg, as well as five locations in Greenville on Pelham Road, Old Buncombe Road, South Main Street, Verdae Boulevard, and Woodruff Road. The division also assessed Tropical Grille Restaurants with civil money penalties totaling $100,000 for the child labor and tip retention violations.

As part of a compliance agreement, the employer is also required to update or create materials that address compliance with child labor laws and provide annual training on child labor regulations for managers and supervisors, among other requirements.

The department’s YouthRules! site is a free, online guide that offers information about protections for young workers to youth, parents, employers, and educators. Through the YouthRules! initiative, the department and its partners promote work experiences that prepare young workers to enter the workforce. 

Workers and employers can call the Wage and Hour Division with questions and requests for compliance assistance at its toll-free helpline, 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers are encouraged to use the agency’s industry-specific compliance assistance toolkits to learn about their responsibilities under the laws enforced by the division. The agency’s PAID program offers employers an opportunity to self-report and resolve potential minimum wage and overtime violations under the FLSA, as well as certain potential violations under the Family and Medical Leave Act. 

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool that workers can use if they think they may be owed back wages collected by the division. Download the agency’s free timesheet app for iOS and Android devices to track hours and pay.

NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $101,125 in back wages from three Baton Rouge area Japanese restaurants after a federal investigation found federal minimum wage and overtime violations.  

The department’s Wage and Hour Division investigated the pay practices of Gulfcoast Restaurant Group LLC, operating as Umami Japanese Bistro in Baton Rouge; Geishaville LLC, doing business as Geisha, Sushi with a Flair in Prairieville; and Chopstix LLC, operating as Geisha, Sushi with a Flair in Denham Springs. The three restaurants share the same owners. 

At Umami Japanese Bistro, division investigators found that servers were required to share their tips with non-tipped kitchen staff, such as cooks and dishwashers, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. This practice invalidated the employer’s use of the tip credit and required the employer to pay more than $66,000, which accounted for full minimum wage payments owed to the affected employees. Additionally, workers were reimbursed $7,450 in tips improperly diverted to kitchen staff. 

At the two Geisha, Sushi with a Flair restaurants, the division found that salaried, nonexempt kitchen employees were collectively denied more than $27,000 in overtime pay as a result of the employers’ failure to pay an overtime premium of time and one-half the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. 

The employers paid a total of $101,125 in back wages to the affected employees for the FLSA violations. They also paid $2,325 in penalties for requiring servers to share tips with kitchen staff.

“The FLSA violations found at these restaurants are far too common in the service industry,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Troy Mouton, in New Orleans. “Employers who claim a tip credit must ensure that they comply with the rules involving tipped employees, and they also must demonstrate that overtime is paid properly to those who have earned it.”

Workers and employers can call the Wage and Hour Division with questions and requests for compliance assistance at its toll-free helpline, 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). The agency’s PAID program offers employers an opportunity to self-report and resolve potential minimum wage and overtime violations under the FLSA, as well as certain potential violations under the Family and Medical Leave Act. 

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool that workers can use if they think they may be owed back wages collected by the division. Download the agency’s free timesheet app for iOS and Android devices to track hours and pay.

ATLANTA – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $113,199 in back wages after an investigation found a Richmond Hill urgent care facility failed to pay its workers for hours worked and retaliated against a worker for questioning its pay practices.

An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Premier Health Consultants LLC – operating as St. Joseph Candler Urgent Care – violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by paying straight time instead of time and one-half in overtime for all hours worked over 40 when employees were required to attend mandatory orientation, meetings, and training. The employer also required certain employees to work off the clock, resulting in unpaid overtime, and suspended a worker who questioned pay practices, all violations of the FLSA.

Workers and employers can call the Wage and Hour Division with questions and requests for compliance assistance at its toll-free helpline, 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers are encouraged to use the agency’s industry-specific compliance assistance toolkits to learn about their responsibilities under the laws enforced by the division. The agency’s PAID program offers employers an opportunity to self-report and resolve potential minimum wage and overtime violations under the FLSA, as well as certain potential violations under the Family and Medical Leave Act. 

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool that workers can use if they think they may be owed back wages collected by the division. Download the agency’s free timesheet app for iOS and Android devices to track hours and pay.

SAN ANTONIO – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered thousands in back wages and assessed penalties after a federal investigation revealed child labor, minimum wage, and overtime violations by the operators of three La Panaderia Bakery & Café locations in San Antonio.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division investigated the pay practices of Tequila Almond Croissant LLC, Pan Dulce LLC, and SA Bakery Co. LLC. All three do business as La Panaderia Bakery & Café in San Antonio with locations at 301 E. Houston Street; 17030 Fiesta Texas Drive; and 8305 Broadway.

Division investigators found the employers violated child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Specifically, they employed a 13-year-old minor who was under the legal age for employment and permitted a 15-year-old minor to work overnight, which is prohibited for 14- and 15-year-olds. The division assessed a $25,706 civil money penalty for the child labor violations.

The division’s investigation also revealed minimum wage violations due to the employers’ failure to pay one worker for two overnight shifts at the La Cantera café location on Fiesta Texas Drive. The employers also failed to combine hours for employees who worked at multiple café locations and paid the employees straight-time rates instead of the required time-and-one-half overtime rates. 

Employers and workers can contact the division with questions and requests for compliance assistance at its toll-free helpline, 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers are also encouraged to use the agency’s industry-specific compliance assistance toolkits to learn about their responsibilities under the laws enforced by the division. The agency’s PAID program offers employers an opportunity to self-report and resolve potential minimum wage and overtime violations under the FLSA, as well as certain potential violations under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Download the agency’s free timesheet app for iOS and Android devices to track hours and pay.

DETROIT – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment requiring the owner of four Leo’s Coney Island franchises in Clarkston, Dearborn, Livonia, and Sterling Heights to pay more than $500,000 in owed overtime wages and damages to 143 employees. 

The consent judgment resolves the department’s case alleging that the four Leo’s Coney Island franchise locations and owner Kiriakos Vlahadamis paid workers straight-time rates for all hours worked when they were legally obligated to pay them time-and-one-half their regular rate of pay for all hours over 40 in a workweek as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division alleged that the defendants maintained two sets of timecards for employees to separate regular hours worked up to 40 per week from any overtime hours worked each week. The division’s investigators also alleged that the timecards tracking overtime hours were regularly destroyed. 

Entered May 26, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, the judgment requires Vlahadamis and the four Leo’s franchises – Sterling Ponds LLC, doing business as Leo’s Coney Island #61; Clarkston Restaurant Inc., doing business as Leo’s Coney Island #22; Dearborn Plaza Coney Island Inc., doing business as Leo’s Coney Island #41; and Stass Restaurant Inc., doing business as Leo’s Coney Island #38 – to pay 143 employees $515,857 in overtime wages and damages.

The consent judgment also requires the defendants to pay $73,784 in penalties. Finally, the defendants paid $10,000 in attorney fees to resolve a contempt petition alleging Vlahadamis and Sterling Ponds LLC violated a 2018 consent judgment requiring compliance with the FLSA.

Workers and employers can call the division with questions and requests for compliance assistance at its toll-free helpline, 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers are encouraged to use the agency’s industry-specific compliance assistance toolkits to learn about their responsibilities under the laws enforced by the division. 

The agency’s PAID program offers employers an opportunity to self-report and resolve potential FLSA minimum wage and overtime violations, as well as certain potential violations under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool that workers can use if they think they may be owed back wages collected by the division. Download the agency’s free timesheet app for iOS and Android devices to track hours and pay.

MINNEAPOLIS – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $613,037 in back wages for 46 workers after a federal investigation found a Minnesota restaurant failed to pay minimum and overtime wages as required by law. 

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division investigated four of the employer’s nine Minnesota locations, and found that Rehman LLC, IN LLC, IQ LLC, and MOON LLC – all operating as NY Gyro – failed to maintain records of hours worked, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s recordkeeping provisions. In addition, the employer violated wage laws when it paid workers straight-time pay for all hours worked, including those over 40 per workweek, resulting in overtime violations. The division also found a minimum wage violation when NY Gyro paid an employee less than the required $7.25 per hour federal minimum wage.

Workers and employers can call the Wage and Hour Division with questions and requests for compliance assistance at its toll-free helpline, 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers are encouraged to use the agency’s industry-specific compliance assistance toolkits to learn about their responsibilities under the laws enforced by the division. The agency’s PAID program offers employers an opportunity to self-report and resolve potential minimum wage and overtime violations under the FLSA, as well as certain potential violations under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool that workers can use if they think they may be owed back wages collected by the division. Download the agency’s free timesheet app for iOS and Android devices to track hours and pay.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today issued two opinion letters addressing how the Fair Labor Standards Act applies to the commuter travel of employees who work part of their workday at home. 

Opinion letters provide official written interpretations from the department’s enforcement agencies, including the Wage and Hour Division, that address real-world questions from individuals or organizations. The letters explain how the laws the division enforces, including the FLSA, apply to specific factual circumstances and that may also help the public understand their rights and responsibilities.

“These opinion letters offer comprehensive guidance that allows employers to confidently make informed decisions regarding a wider variety of employee work arrangements,” said Wage and Hour Division Administrator Andrew Rogers. “By elucidating how the FLSA applies to various commuting situations, the division is enabling organizations to successfully implement compliant practices that support operational and employee needs, while ensuring that workers are properly compensated for all hours worked.”

The two opinion letters issued today are:

• FLSA2026-9: Whether mid-day travel between an employee’s home and work office is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA, where the employee performs work at both locations and the mid-day travel is offered as a voluntary alternative to unpaid commuter travel that would otherwise occur before or after the employee’s workday.
• FLSA2026-10: Whether time spent by an employee receiving pages, calling clients and other workers to schedule appointments, and driving from home to the first client appointment is worktime that an employer must record and pay for under the FLSA.

In June 2025, the department announced the relaunch of the opinion letter program, which expands its longstanding commitment to providing meaningful compliance assistance that helps workers, employers, and other stakeholders understand how federal labor laws apply in specific workplace situations.

The public is encouraged to visit the division’s opinion letter page to explore past guidance and to find information on how to submit a request for an opinion letter. The division will exercise discretion in determining whether and how it will respond to each request and will focus primarily on attempting to address matters where the application of existing regulations or guidance is unclear or issues of broad-based concern.

Workers and employers can call the Wage and Hour Division with questions and requests for compliance assistance at its toll-free helpline, 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers are encouraged to use the agency’s industry-specific compliance assistance toolkits to learn about their responsibilities under the laws enforced by the division. The agency’s PAID program offers employers an opportunity to self-report and resolve potential minimum wage and overtime violations under the FLSA, as well as certain potential violations under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Read opinion letters FLSA2026-9 and FLSA2026-10.

SAN DIEGO – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $500,256 in back wages for six deli workers who were not paid the local minimum wage for regular hours or overtime premiums for hours worked over 40 per workweek.  

The department’s Wage and Hour Division investigated Chau Deli, operating as A Chau Sandwich, and determined that the employer paid workers a flat rate of $100 per day despite often working 11-hour days, averaging 55 hours each week. The investigation found that the regular rate of pay for these workers was less than the local minimum wage.

The division also found that workers were not paid overtime premiums for hours worked over 40 in a workweek, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime requirements. As a result of the investigation, each worker was paid approximately $83,000 in back wages.

“The Wage and Hour Division remains committed to upholding federal labor law protections for workers supporting themselves and their families,” said Wage and Hour Division Administrator Andrew Rogers. “The division stands ready to assist employers with understanding and complying with the laws we enforce.”

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

Employers and workers can call the division with questions and requests for compliance assistance at its toll-free helpline, 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers are encouraged to use the agency’s industry-specific compliance assistance toolkits to learn about their responsibilities under the laws enforced by the division. The agency’s PAID program offers employers an opportunity to self-report and resolve potential minimum wage and overtime violations under the FLSA, as well as certain potential violations under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Download the agency’s free timesheet app for iOS and Android devices to track hours and pay.

WEST VIRGINIA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is asking the highway construction industry of West Virginia to participate in a survey to help the agency establish prevailing wage rates, as required under the Davis-Bacon Act and Related Acts, for the payment of construction workers on federally funded and federally assisted construction projects.

The survey requests information about wages paid to workers on highway construction projects in West Virginia where construction occurred between Aug. 3, 2025, and Nov. 2, 2026. This is a statewide survey and is not limited to only federally funded construction projects. The data collection period will begin Aug. 3, 2026, and will conclude on Nov. 2, 2026. 

Participation in the survey process is critical to the publication of prevailing wage and fringe benefit rates that accurately reflect the rates paid in the area being surveyed and the department encourages all stakeholders to participate. The DBRA directs the department to set the prevailing wage rates that reflect the actual wages and fringe benefits paid to construction workers in the county where the work takes place. Complete determinations also reduce the need for contractors to request additional labor classifications. 

The division will send notification e-mails to interested parties and contractors known to the agency directing participants to the website where they can complete the survey online. All contractors and other interested parties are encouraged to participate in the survey online, regardless of whether they receive an e-mail. Survey participants are asked to please complete and submit the survey by Nov. 2, 2026.

If you have questions about the survey process or related forms, please contact the Davis-Bacon Survey Center at 202-343-2005 or DavisBaconInfo@dol.gov. 

More information about this survey is available via two free online briefings that will describe the survey process and provide instructions for completing the survey. These briefings will be held on Aug. 4, 2026, and Aug. 6, 2026. 

Register to attend an upcoming briefing. 

Learn more about the surveys.

FRANKLIN, TN – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $1,730,598 in back wages for 1,666 workers after an investigation found that a multi-trade contractor failed to pay them their full wages, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.   

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Divisiondiscovered that The State Group Industrial (USA) Ltd. Inc. violated the FLSA’s overtime provisions when it did not include incentive bonuses in the regular rate of pay for 1,666 hourly employees working at the Ford Motor Co.’s electric vehicle and battery manufacturing campus in Stanton, Tennessee. As a result, employees were not paid the full overtime premium required for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. 

“The State Group violated federal law when it excluded bonuses from its overtime calculations, averaging more than $1,000 in back wages owed to each employee,” stated Wage and Hour Division Administrator Andrew Rogers. “Our investigators remain committed to obtaining appropriate remedies for workers who are not paid as the law requires and driving long term compliance to prevent violations in the future.”

Employers and workers can call the division with questions and requests for compliance assistance through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers are encouraged to use the agency’s opinion letters to learn about their legal obligations, including two opinion letters issued in 2025 and 2026 that address whether certain payments must be included in an employee’s regular rate of pay when calculating overtime premiums under the FLSA. The agency’s PAID program offers employers an opportunity to self-report and resolve potential minimum wage and overtime violations under the FLSA, as well as certain potential violations under the Family and Medical Leave Act. 

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool that workers can use if they think they may be owed back wages collected by the division. Download the agency’s free timesheet app for iOS and Android devices to track hours and pay.