PASCAGOULA, MS – A Pascagoula, Mississippi, staffing agency for the marine and shipbuilding industries has paid $46,372 in back wages to 45 employees to resolve overtime and recordkeeping violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act found in a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation.

Wage and Hour Division investigators found Quality Marine Staffing LLC failed to pay some employees overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. Instead, the employer artificially labeled a portion of the employees’ hours as “per diem” payment, at an hourly rate, and paid that hourly payment at straight time for overtime hours. In addition, the division found the employer failed to maintain accurate payroll records as required by the FLSA.

“Employers must ensure they pay their workers the wages they have rightfully earned, and as federal law requires,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Audrey Hall in Jackson, Mississippi. “Concealing overtime as per diem payment and shorting workers by paying for those hours at straight time will not be tolerated. The U.S. Department of Labor will continue working to level the playing field for employers that play by the rules, and to ensure workers get paid the hard-earned wages they have legally earned.”

The department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos and confidential calls to local Wage and Hour Division offices.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd.

PHILADELPHIA – Every day, seniors and people with disabilities rely on home health care workers for vital services. While the demand for these skilled employees is high, wages remain low. So when a Philadelphia home health care agency failed to pay millions in overtime wages to its workers, the impact hit more than 450 workers hard as they struggled to make ends meet.

A recent investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has recovered $2,125,429 in back wages for 456 workers employed by Good Family Support Services Inc., operator of Good Family Support Services, a non-profit organization in Philadelphia.

The division found that the employer paid family care workers on an hourly basis, but paid straight-time rates for overtime hours. Good Family Support Services also failed to record the number of hours that two employees worked, and failed to record hourly rates, violating Fair Labor Standards Act’s recordkeeping requirements.

“Home health care workers provide essential services and have remained on the front lines, taking care of our loved ones and keeping us moving forward,” said Senior Counselor to the Secretary M. Patricia Smith. “These employees deserve to be paid every cent they have earned.”

“This case demonstrates our commitment to protecting and respecting vulnerable workers, in home health care and all low-wage industries,” said Wage and Hour Division Principal Deputy Administrator Jessica Looman. “The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to protecting all workers’ wages and to ensuring a level-playing field for all employers.”

Good Family Support Services Inc. offers in-home care services and caregiver trainings.

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

CHICAGO – Kitchen staff worked countless hours making authentic dishes like Banh Mi and Pho for a fixed salary while co-workers serving customers seeking Vietnamese cuisine at a popular Chicago restaurant often worked for tips only.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has recovered $697,295 in back wages for 60 employees following an investigation of Tank Noodle Inc. Investigators found the employer owed some workers more than $10,000 each in back wages and identified numerous violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and overtime requirements. The agency also found the employer failed to keep accurate records of the number of hours employees worked, as the law requires. On Oct. 14, 2020, the division notified Tank Noodle Inc. that they were in violation of the FLSA. Tank Noodle Inc. signed an agreement to pay the back wages they owed on Dec. 7, 2020.

 “This investigation recovered a considerable amount of back wages for 60 employees in an industry whose essential workers are often among the lowest paid in our society,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Thomas Gauza in Chicago. “Failing to accurately record the hours employees work does not prevent a federal investigation, the discovery of violations and ultimately, back wage recovery. This case shows that employers that attempt to gain an unfair competitive advantage by flouting the law will be held accountable.”

Investigators found the Northside restaurant employed some servers to work only for tips, failing to pay them any direct wages, as the law requires. Tank Noodle also shorted servers when the employer pooled tips each day, and divided them evenly among all staff, which illegally included management. The FLSA does not permit management to participate in tip pooling arrangements. Additionally, the restaurant violated overtime requirements when it paid some workers flat amounts per day, regardless of the number of hours that they worked. Doing so resulted in violations when those employees worked more than 40 hours per week but the employer failed to pay overtime.

The department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos, or confidential calls to local Wage and Hour Division offices. For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).

NORTH CHARLESTON, SC – While a North Charleston catering facility relied on the hard work of its hourly workers to make their guests’ weddings and special events memorable, a recent U.S. Department of Labor investigation found 18 workers had less to celebrate when their employer failed to pay them $22,970 in overtime they had earned.

U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators determined Crazy Dutchman Catering LLC violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by paying straight-time rates for overtime hours employees worked at catered events. The employer tracked hours employees worked at their establishment with a time clock, but failed to record the number of hours employees worked at events off site. Instead, Crazy Dutchman paid workers flat rates per event, regardless of the number of hours they worked. By doing so, the employer failed to pay workers overtime when their work time spent at offsite events combined with their work at the employer’s establishment exceeded 40 in a workweek.

In addition to recovering the overtime back wages for the workers, the division found Crazy Dutchman’s failure to keep a record of the number of hours the employees worked at catered events violated FLSA recordkeeping requirements.

“Workers in the food service industries are among the most vulnerable we see,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jamie Benefiel, in Columbia, South Carolina. “Workers, particularly those on the front lines who have kept us moving forward during a global pandemic, deserve to be paid every penny they have earned. The U.S. Department of Labor encourages all employers to contact their nearest Wage and Hour Division office for assistance with understanding their responsibilities under the law.”

The division offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos and confidential calls to local Wage and Hour Division offices. Learn more about the FLSA. Contact the Wage and Hour Division toll-free at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) for more information.

PHOENIX, AZ – The U.S. Department of Labor wants to hear from current and former employees of a Tempe stucco and plastering contractor as part of long-running investigation and lawsuit over continuous and egregious alleged overtime and recordkeeping violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The department is seeking to recover back wages that Valley Wide Plastering may owe to those now working for the contractor or who have worked for the them since October 2015. Those now employed or employed by Valley Wide at any time since October 2015 should contact the department’s Wage and Hour Division at (602) 296-9723 for information about the case.

The division first investigated Valley Wide Plastering in 2012 for failing to maintain accurate records. A subsequent lawsuit filed by the department in 2018 alleged that the company failed to pay overtime to employees it paid on both a “piece rate” and hourly basis. Since the 2018 filing, the department alleges that Valley Wide Plastering has continued to fabricate and alter time records to hide the total number of hours its employees worked. The department also alleges the employer began doctoring payroll to make it appear that it had paid overtime when, in fact, Valley Wide Plastering continues to deny workers’ wages they have legally earned.  

The U.S. District Court in Arizona granted the department’s motion for a preliminary injunction Feb. 5, 2021, to prevent Valley Wide Plastering from continuing to violate recordkeeping requirements. The court found substantial evidence that Valley Wide Plastering, both before and during the litigation, inaccurately recorded employee work hours “by filling in false hours or by manually altering the number of hours employees record without adequate justification.”

The court also found evidence that showed the defendants have reduced “the regular rates of their employees to make it appear as if overtime is paid when it is not,” with evidence also showing defendants had failed to “accurately record wages paid to their employees by issuing checks from non-payroll accounts.” The court ordered Valley Wide Plastering to reform its recordkeeping practices and to notify its workers of their rights.

The department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos and confidential calls to local Wage and Hour Division offices.

Read this news release En Español

DALLAS – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division will host a two-day virtual event from March 3-4, 2021, to provide guidance on federal requirements governing agricultural employment to growers, farmers, shippers, contractors, farm labor contractors, buyers and agricultural workers in the agency’s Southwest region.

Presented in coordination with other agencies and stakeholders, the 2021 Virtual Agricultural Seminar will focus on federal regulations governing agricultural employment and include discussions on the Fair Labor Standards Act, Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, H-2A temporary agricultural program and Office of Foreign Labor Certification. Learn about requirements for wages, housing, transportation, field sanitation, farm labor contractor certification, and more. Discussions will also include the impact of the coronavirus on agricultural employment.

“The Wage and Hour Division encourages workers, employers and others in the agriculture industry to participate,” said Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Betty Campbell. “We remain committed to ensuring that agricultural workers are paid the wages they have earned, and that employers clearly understand their responsibilities. These workers have remained on the front lines and deserve every protection the law provides.”

Scheduled to join the seminar are representatives from the following agencies and organizations:

• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency
• The National Council of Agricultural Employers
• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• U.S. Department of Justice’s Immigrant Employee Rights Section
• The McCain Institute Combatting Human Trafficking Program

See the seminar’s agenda. Share the event flyer in English and Spanish. The event will take place on both days from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CST. Attendance is free, but the division recommends participants register for the seminar in advance. 

Read this news release En Español

MYRTLE BEACH, SC – While the operator of six South Carolina ice cream franchise locations sold customers frozen treats, a federal investigation has gotten 61 workers their just desserts – a total of $16,250 in back wages – for the employer’s failure to pay overtime at six Myrtle Beach locations.

U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found Bryers of MB Inc. and Rowland Dairies Inc. – which operate six Ben & Jerry’s locations – paid the workers straight-time for all the hours that they worked, violating the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay overtime when workers’ hours exceeded 40 in a workweek.

In addition to the wage violations, the division also assessed the employer a $5,110 civil money penalty for violations of child labor requirements after the employer allowed two 12-year-olds to operate snow-cone stands, a violation of federal law that governs minimum ages for non-agricultural work. The employer also failed to keep accurate records detailing the dates of birth for the minor workers, and the number of hours some employees worked.

“Employers must ensure they pay workers all the wages they have earned, including overtime, and must pay special attention to the rules about minor employees,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jamie Benefiel, in Columbia, South Carolina. “The Wage and Hour Division is committed to keeping young employees safe in the workplace. This case should serve as notice to other employers who may employ minors in similar conditions to ensure they comply, and to ensure they pay all workers their rightful wages.”

The division offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos and confidential calls to local Wage and Hour Division offices. Learn more about the FLSA. Contact the Wage and Hour Division toll-free at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) for more information.

ST. PAUL – Twin Cities’ area shoppers know about Supermercado Lomabonita’s five locations, but they may not know that a recent U.S. Department of Labor investigation found the grocer failed to pay overtime to its cooks, butchers, bakers and cashiers as required by law.

Following an investigation as part of an education and enforcement initiative in the grocery industry by the department’s Wage and Hour Division, Supermercado Lomabonita will pay $212,459 in overtime back wages to 81 employees. The division found the grocer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by:

• Paying employees “straight-time” for all the hours that they worked, including overtime hours that the employer should have paid at time-and-one-half workers’ regular rates of pay;
• Failing to combine hours that employees worked at multiple store sites during the same workweek, leading to  violations when total weekly hours exceeded 40, but the employer failed to pay overtime;
• Erroneously considering some employees as exempt from overtime. These employees worked up to 70 hours a week for a flat salary, and should have received overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a week; and  
• Failing to maintain accurate records of the number of hours employees worked.

“Violations like these are all too common in the grocery industry. Shorting low-wage workers’ pay prevents them from meeting their basic needs,” explained Acting Wage and Hour Division District Director Kristin Tout, in Minneapolis. “Our enforcement and education initiatives raise awareness of federal labor laws and protections among employers, workers, community organizations and others, and help ensure that workers take home every penny of their hard-earned wages.”

The Wage and Hour Division offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos, and confidential calls to local Wage and Hour Division offices. For more information visit https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd or call the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).

The investigation disclosed the following back wages due, by location:

HAGATNA, GUAM – Forty-three workers left the Philippines, traveling 1,550 miles to Guam through a federal temporary work visa program. While working at various construction sites on Guam, their employer willfully withheld their hard-earned overtime pay. Once the U.S. Department of Labor investigated, these workers received all of the wages they had earned.

After its investigation, the department’s Wage and Hour Division recovered $202,390 in unpaid overtime wages that Asian Construction Development Corp. owed to the 43 employees. Investigators found that the general contractor employer failed to pay the workers overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. The division also assessed the employer $29,971 in civil money penalties for the willful nature of the violations found.

Investigators found the contractor paid workers for their first 40 hours each week by check, and recorded these payments in their payroll records. However, Asian Construction Development Corp. paid for any overtime hours employees worked in cash, at straight-time rates, and kept a separate, unreported record of these overtime hours.

“Employers must record and pay workers for all of the hours they work, including overtime,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Terence Trotter, in Honolulu. “The workers in this case left their home countries to work for this employer, and deserved to be paid every penny they have legally earned.”

The division offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos and confidential calls to local Wage and Hour offices. Learn more about the FLSA. Contact the Wage and Hour Division toll-free at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) for more information.

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – A Fort Lauderdale heating, ventilation and air conditioning contractor has paid $20,547 in back wages to 18 employees after a federal investigation found the employer failed to pay workers overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek.

U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators determined Fuss Free AC LLC – operating as Fuss Free AC and Appliances – violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime requirements. The employer failed to record and pay employees for all of the hours that they worked, resulting in overtime violations in workweeks of more than 40 hours. Fuss Free AC also paid two workers flat weekly salaries regardless of the number of hours they actually worked. By doing so, the employer failed to pay overtime as the law requires when the employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. The employer also failed to maintain payroll records as required by the FLSA.

“Employers must pay their workers all of their hard-earned wages for all of the hours they have worked,” said Wage and Hour Division Acting District Director Lesbia Rodriguez, in Miami. “Other employers should use the results of this investigation as an opportunity to review their own pay practices. The U.S. Department of Labor will continue working to level the playing field for employers that play by the rules, and to ensure workers get paid the wages they have legally earned.”

The division offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos and confidential calls to local Wage and Hour Division offices. Learn more about the FLSA. Contact the Wage and Hour Division toll-free at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) for more information.