HOUSTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $101,690 in back wages and damages owed to 31 employees of a Houston plumbing contractor who paid them a salary but failed to pay an overtime premium for hours over 40 in a workweek.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined Amailey Plumbing LLC categorized service technicians and apprentice helpers as salaried employees and did not pay them the correct overtime rate as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. The division calculated that the contractor owed $50,845 in back overtime wages and an equal amount in damages.

“The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to making sure every worker receives their rightfully earned wages,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Chad Frasier in Houston. “The outcome in this case should remind other employers to evaluate their pay practices in order to avoid sometimes costly compliance issues. Employers are encouraged to contact the Wage and Hour Division if they have any questions about compliance.”

Founded in 2008, Amailey Plumbing LLC offers plumbing services in the Houston area for new home construction, routine system cleaning, maintenance, repair, and response for plumbing emergencies. 

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. Workers and employers can call the division’s toll-free helpline for assistance at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). 

Download the agency’s free Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices to ensure hours and pay are accurate. 

LEESBURG, FL – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $594,313 in back wages and damages for 419 workers after a federal investigation found a Leesburg-based employer failed to pay workers all of their required overtime wages.

An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined Amtex-NMS Inc., operating as Southeast Modular Manufacturing, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime provision by not paying workers time-and-a-half their regular rate for all hours over 40 in a workweek. Specifically, its rounding methods improperly reduced hours that resulted in unpaid overtime for hours worked over 40 per workweek.

Investigators also discovered the employer violated federal recordkeeping requirements by failing to maintain complete and accurate records of workers’ wages and hours.

“Some employers use a pay method referred to as rounding to produce even and balanced calculations of hours worked. While it can be a useful tool, it is the responsibility of all employers to ensure the use of rounding in their time systems is balanced and does not always round in the employer’s favor,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Vilma Bell in Orlando, Florida. “We encourage all workers and employers to contact their nearest Wage and Hour Division office with any questions regarding their rights and obligations under the law.”

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

Workers and employers alike can help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s free Android and iPhone Timesheet App. Employers and workers can contact the Wage and Hour Division at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE (487-9243). 

LOUISVILLE, KY – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered more than $207,470 in back wages and damages for 157 workers after finding a Michigan-based electrical services contractor failed to pay proper overtime rates to workers at job sites in Arizona and Kentucky.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that M.J. Electric LLC did not include non-discretionary bonuses in employees’ regular rate of pay when calculating overtime pay, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The investigation initially revealed the overtime violation at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Paradise Simple Cycle Project in Drakesboro, Kentucky. The investigation was expanded after similar violations were found at an M.J. Electric project in Ehrenberg, Arizona.

In addition to collecting $207,470 in back wages and damages, the division assessed the company a $19,782 civil money penalty for a repeat FLSA violation. In 2018, the department investigated M.J. Electric and found the company violated federal law by not properly paying overtime on non-discretionary bonuses. 

“The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to holding employers accountable, especially when they deny employees their hard-earned wages,” said Wage and Hour Division Acting District Director Wildali De Jésus in Louisville, Kentucky. “We urge employers who are unsure of their obligations to contact us for assistance to avoid compliance issues.”

A subsidiary of Quanta Services, M.J. Electric LLC is headquartered in Iron Mountain, Michigan. The contractor provides electrical services such as power line work and power generation throughout the U.S.

For more information about compliance assistance and employee rights enforced by the division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). 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 Android and iPhone devices to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

SAN JOSE, CA – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered more than $1.4 million in back wages for more than 2,600 employees after finding a large, San Jose-based electrical engineering and construction company failed to pay them proper overtime rates, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined Cupertino Electric Inc. failed to include non-discretionary bonuses when determining the rate for purposes of calculating overtime pay, which led to the significant wage recovery. The company is one of California's largest electrical contractors.

“The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to making sure employees are paid properly, including the full amount of their legally required overtime rates,” said Wage and Hour Division Assistant District Director Lilita Hom in San Jose. 

A subsidiary of Quanta, Cupertino Electric has designed and built complex electrical systems for private and public sector clients in Arizona, California, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.

For more information about employee rights enforced by the division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division.

Download the agency’s free Timesheet App for Android and iOS devices to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

HONOLULU – The U.S. Department of Labor is actively seeking hundreds of workers who are owed their share of more than $3.8 million in unpaid overtime withheld deliberately by a Kilauea staffing agency and Lihue cleaning contractor after a federal investigation and litigation that followed.  

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Alacrity Employment Services in Kilauea and Hawaii Care and Cleaning Inc. in Lihue deprived 1,133 employees of their rightful overtime wages between March 5, 2021, and Nov. 13, 2024. Investigators also determined the employers frequently falsified pay records to mask their violations.

“Overtime worked should be overtime paid,” said Wage and Hour Division Acting District Director Min Kirk in Honolulu. “An employer cannot evade their responsibility for overtime pay by using schemes such as excluding workers from payroll or underreporting their actual work hours.”

On Jan. 14, 2025, the department’s Office of the Solicitor obtained a consent judgment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii requiring Hawaii Care and Cleaning, Alacrity Employment Services, and their respective owners, William Allen and Amy Galtes, to pay $1.9 million in back wages and an equal amount in damages to the affected workers. The judgment also directs Hawaii Care and Cleaning and Alacrity Employment Services to pay $50,000 in civil money penalties given their willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

If you or someone you know was employed by these companies between March 5, 2021, and Nov. 13, 2024, contact the division’s Honolulu District Office at (808) 541-1361 to find out if you are owed back wages and damages.

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 through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Download the agency’s free Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices to track hours and pay. 

HOUSTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division encourages employers, stakeholders, and others in Southeast Texas’ building and heavy construction industries to help establish accurate prevailing wage rates and fringe benefits for workers on federally funded and assisted projects.

Required by federal law, the division is distributing an online survey that asks for information on wages paid for relevant construction projects from May 5, 2024, to Aug. 5, 2025. The areas covered include Austin, Brazoria, Brazos, Burleson, Chambers, Colorado, Fayette, Fort Bend, Galveston, Grimes, Hardin, Harris, Houston, Jasper, Jefferson, Lee, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Matagorda, Milam, Montgomery, Newton, Orange, Polk, Robertson, San Jacinto, Trinity, Tyler, Waller, Washington, and Wharton counties. 

The Davis-Bacon and Related Acts require the department to set prevailing wage rates that reflect the actual wages and fringe benefits paid to construction workers where the work occurs. Survey responses help the division publish accurate prevailing wage and fringe benefit rates in these areas. The more complete the survey, the more accurate the determinations, which in turn saves contractors time by reducing their requests for additional labor classifications. The department encourages all industry employers and stakeholders, not limited to those working on federally funded or assisted construction projects, to participate with the most complete data possible.

The division strongly urges online survey completion by Aug. 29, 2025, and will send notification emails to interested parties and contractors known to the agency with directions on how to access and complete the survey. To receive more information or request a survey by mail or email, contact the division’s Davis-Bacon Survey Center at (202) 343-2005 or email Davisbaconinfo@dol.gov. 

Learn more about the surveys. 

To assist employers and other stakeholders in participating in the survey, the division is offering two online briefings on May 13 and 15 covering the process and instructions needed to complete surveys. Register now for a no-cost briefing. 

NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $319,065 in back wages for 49 workers employed by a New Orleans landscaping company that misclassified them as independent contractors and, by doing so, denied them overtime pay.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division determined Pfefferle Lawns violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay overtime at time and one-half an employee’s rate of pay for hours over 40 in a workweek and not keeping accurate records.

“Misclassification of employees as independent contractors is not legal or fair. It deprives workers of their hard-earned wages, benefits and protections,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Troy Mouton in New Orleans. “Companies that misclassify employees also usually deny them workplace rights and benefits, including overtime pay, and they also enjoy an unfair competitive advantage over other companies that comply with law.”

Workers can use the Wage and Hour Division’s Workers Owed Wages search tool to check if they are owed back wages collected by the division. Employers and workers can contact the division confidentially for help at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from. The division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. Workers and employers alike can help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and iOS Timesheet App for free in English or Spanish.  

PHOENIX – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment ordering two commonly owned Arizona drywall and painting companies to pay $7,450,000 in back wages and damages after investigators found the employers willfully denied overtime pay to more than 1,400 employees.

The Jan. 15, 2025 judgment by the U.S. District Court of the District of Arizona follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found Apodaca Wall Systems Inc. and Empire Wall Systems Inc. in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The companies, owned by Arnold Apodaca and his children Michael and Brittany Apodaca, attempted to evade payment of overtime wages by paying hourly employees with multiple checks at straight-time rates for all hours worked. They also used labor brokers to hire hourly workers who were paid in cash at straight time even when they worked over 40 hours in a workweek. 

Additionally, the companies paid a piece rate, based on square feet completed, to workers outside the company’s payroll without regard to the number of hours worked. Crew leads received and then redistributed the piece-rate pay to these workers, denying them overtime pay required by law.

“Apodaca Wall Systems and Empire Wall Systems exploited hundreds of vulnerable workers and intentionally deprived them of hard-earned overtime wages,” said Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “They concocted multiple schemes to evade federal overtime laws and attempted to increase their profits on the backs of their employees. In the process, they made it more difficult for these employees to make a living and provide for themselves and their families.”

In addition to the payment of $3,725,000 in overtime back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages, the judgment permanently forbids and restrains from future FLSA violations Apodaca Wall Systems and Empire Wall Systems and orders  them to pay the department $125,000 in penalties.

“Piece-rate workers are entitled to premium pay for overtime hours,” added Western Regional Solicitor Marc Pilotin in San Francisco. “These companies purposely cheated workers and hurt their communities by violating federal law deliberately and are now learning illegal actions like these have costly consequences.”

The division’s Phoenix District Office conducted the investigation. The regional Office of the Solicitor in San Francisco obtained the judgment on the case.

The department’s significant enforcement efforts in Arizona’s construction industry in the last five years recovered more than $22 million in unpaid wages and damages for workers. 

Based in Phoenix, Apodaca Wall Systems and Empire Wall Systems provide interior painting and drywall construction. Apodaca Wall has been recognized by Hispanic Business magazine as one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S.

Current and former Apodaca Wall Systems and Empire Wall Systems employees should call the division directly at 602-407-5323 to find out if they are owed back wages recovered as part of this judgment. The department can speak confidentially with callers in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).

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 and how to file an online complaint.

Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices – also available in Spanish – to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

Julie Su v. Apodaca Wall Systems Inc. and Empire Wall Systems Inc.; Arnold Apodaca, an individual; Michael Apodaca, an individual; and Brittany Apodaca, an individual

NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $446,334 in back wages and liquidated damages from two northwest Louisiana home care companies that misclassified 88 workers as independent contractors, depriving them of overtime wages in violation of federal law. 

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found that 24 employees of the Stonewall-based Inner Quality Services LLC and 64 employees of the Shreveport-based Sincere Client Care Services LLC were misclassified as independent contractors and paid straight-time rates for all hours worked, including for hours over 40 in a workweek. 

The division recovered $70,106 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages from Inner Quality Services for affected employees, and $153,061 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages for the affected employees at Sincere Client Care Services to resolve their Fair Labor Standards Act violations.

“The Wage and Hour Division takes employee misclassification seriously, and we will continue to hold employers accountable when workers are denied their lawfully earned wages,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Troy Mouton in New Orleans. “Misclassification often results in workers losing critical workplace protections and benefits, including overtime pay. This practice is unfair to the workers and other employers who classify their workforce correctly.” 

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. The division protects workers regardless of where they are from and can communicate with workers and employers confidentially in more than 200 languages at 1-866-4-US-WAGE (487-9243). 

Download the agency’s Timesheet App, which is available in English and Spanish for Android and Apple devices, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.   

 Learn more about employee misclassification.

Date of action:                       Jan. 13, 2025

Type of action:                      Consent judgment and order 

Employers:                             Om Soham Inc. in Framingham

                                                      Om Soham Om Inc. in Sudbury

                                                      Shri Krsna Inc. in Oxford

                                                      Shri Ram Inc. in Framingham

                                                     Shri Vedmata Gayatri Inc. in Sturbridge

                                                     Shri Vishnu Inc. in Leicester 

                                                     Ritesh Patel, owner/operator

Allegations: The U.S. Department of Labor alleged that six Subway franchise locations in Massachusetts willfully violated the Fair Labor Standard Act’s overtime provisions when the employers paid certain employees set weekly amounts for varying overtime hours worked. Additionally, the department alleged that the employer deprived certain employees of the required overtime rate by paying them the same hourly amount for all hours worked, including hours over 40 in a workweek. Federal law requires the payment of overtime pay for certain employees at time and one-half their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek.

The department’s lawsuit also alleged that the franchise locations failed to keep accurate or complete records of some employees’ work hours and wage payments. 

Resolution: In a Jan. 13, 2025, consent judgment, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts directed the employers to pay the 12 affected workers their shares of $31,802 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. The employer will also pay civil money penalties of $4,626 for the employers’ willful FLSA violations. The court also issued a permanent injunction forbidding the employers from future FLSA violations.

View the consent judgment and order.

Quotes: “When employers create compensation structures that deprive employees of proper overtime pay, the Office of the Solicitor will litigate aggressively to ensure that workers receive the wages they have earned,” said Regional Solicitor Maia S. Fisher in Boston.

“These Subway franchises willfully violated the rights of 12 restaurant workers who work hard,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Carlos Matos in Boston. “The Wage and Hour Division will use all available enforcement tools to hold employers accountable and bring them into compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act.” 

Court:                                          The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

Docket Number:                    4:23-cv-40119-MRG