EL PASO, TX – El Paso Independent School District has paid $2,139 in back wages to an employee after the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) determined the employer wrongly denied emergency paid sick leave to an employee whose healthcare providers ordered them to self-quarantine for two weeks for reasons related to the coronavirus.  

WHD found the school district violated the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The FFCRA allows employees to take leave when a healthcare provider advises the employee to self-quarantine or while experiencing coronavirus symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis.

El Paso Independent School District cooperated fully when contacted by WHD, and once it understood its responsibility under the new law, agreed to pay the employee’s full wages for the days the employee was unable to work. The employer agreed to future compliance with the FFCRA, which took effect on April 1, 2020.

“Employers must be fully aware of how to comply with the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and provide employees paid sick leave to care for themselves and family members when required. We appreciate the employer’s cooperation in this case,” said Wage and Hour District Director Evelyn Sanchez in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “The U.S. Department of Labor continues to protect employees and educate employers during the coronavirus pandemic. We encourage employers and employees to contact us for assistance to improve their understanding of new requirements under the FFCRA, and to use our educational online tools to avoid violations like those found in this case.”

The FFCRA helps the U.S. combat and defeat the workplace effects of the coronavirus by giving tax credits to American businesses with fewer than 500 employees to reimburse the costs of providing employees with paid leave for certain reasons related to the coronavirus. Please visit WHD’s “Quick Benefits Tips” for information about how much leave workers may qualify to use, and the wages employers must pay. The law enables employers to provide paid leave reimbursed by tax credits, while at the same time ensuring that workers are not forced to choose between their paychecks and the public health measures needed to combat the virus.

WHD provides additional information on common issues employers and employees face when responding to the coronavirus and its effects on wages and hours worked under the Fair Labor Standards Act and on job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic.

The department offers an online webinar to inform employers of their responsibility under the FFCRA at https://dolwhd.cosocloud.com/pm4jvdnb4sch/.

The mission of WHD is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation’s workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

 ###
 

SAN JUAN, PR – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) and litigation by the Department’s Office of the Solicitor, the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico has entered a default judgment ordering a group of four interrelated Puerto Rico security guard companies and their principals to pay a total of $715,685 in back wages and damages to 400 employees for their willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The court found that the defendants – Evolution Quality Guard Inc., E.Q.G. Protection Agency & Order Corp.; Excellent Quality Guard Corp.; Excellent Quality Guard Services Inc.; Orlando Merced Morales; and Joel Velazquez Cruz – were joint employers and erroneously classified security guard employees as independent contractors, resulting in their failure to pay minimum wage and overtime required by the FLSA. In addition, the court ordered E.Q.G. Protection Agency & Order Corp., Orlando Merced Morales and Joel Velazquez Cruz to pay $226,442 in civil money penalties.

The court found that that the employers failed to pay any wages to 51 security guard employees, resulting in minimum wage violations; and paid only straight time without required overtime payment to 394 guards who worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. The court further concluded that the employers created false time records and provided those falsified records to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) during its investigation, in addition to failing to maintain accurate and complete payroll records. 

This case was WHD’s second investigation of the employers. After the employers refused to comply with the FLSA and refused to pay the back wages due under the law, the Department’s Office of the Solicitor filed a complaint against the defendants. After the defendants failed to comply with the court’s orders, the court entered a judgment and order for the total amount of back wages and liquidated damages owed to the employees. It further ordered the defendants to pay $226,442 in civil money penalties and enjoined the defendants from further FLSA violations.

“The U.S. Department of Labor took this legal action to make certain the employers comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act,” said Solicitor of Labor Kate O’Scannlain. “The Department will continue to ensure that employees are paid all the wages they have rightfully earned.”

“Employers must pay all the wages legally earned by their employees,” said Wage and Hour Division Administrator Cheryl Stanton. “The Department will continue to assist employers in meeting their legal obligations, and ensure that employees are kept whole.”

“Employees must be paid all of the wages they have legally earned,” said Wage and Hour District Director José R. Vázquez in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. “We provide multiple tools to help employers understand their responsibilities, and offer confidential compliance assistance to anyone with questions about how to comply with the law.”

“This case demonstrates that the U.S. Department of Labor will use all enforcement tools available to ensure employees receive the wages they have earned, and that employers compete on a level playing field,” said the Department’s Regional Solicitor Jeffrey S. Rogoff in New York, New York. “Employers cannot evade the requirements of the law by creating fake records, misclassifying employees and transferring their operations and employees from one company to the next.”

WHD’s Caribbean District Office conducted the investigation. Senior Trial Attorney Amy Tai of the New York regional solicitor's office litigated the case for the Department.

For more information about the FLSA, and other laws enforced by WHD, contact the Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the Division.

WHD’s mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation’s workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

Scalia v. Evolution Quality Guard, Inc., E.Q.G. Protection Agency & Order Corp.; Excellent Quality Guard Corp.; Excellent Quality Guard Services Inc.; Orlando Merced Morales and Joel Velazquez Cruz.

Civil Action Number:  17-1210 (RAM).

IDAHO FALLS, IDAHO – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), JM Concrete Inc. – based in Idaho Falls, Idaho – has paid $92,290 in back wages to 27 employees for violating prevailing wage requirements on the Lorenzo Bridge Rehabilitation project on State Highway 20 in Jefferson and Madison counties.

WHD investigators found that JM Concrete Inc. violated the Davis-Bacon Act when the employer failed to pay required prevailing wages and fringe benefits to the project’s carpenters, truck drivers, power equipment operators and general laborers. The employer also failed to pay workers weekly as the law requires.

“The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is committed to ensuring that workers receive all the wages they have legally earned, especially in these unprecedented times,” said the Wage and Hour Division’s Regional Administrator Ruben Rosalez, in San Francisco, California. “This investigation sends a strong message that the Wage and Hour Division will actively protect workers’ rights and level the playing field for employers. We encourage employers to reach out to us and to use the many tools we provide to help them understand their responsibilities. Employers can avoid violations like those found in this case.”

JM Concrete works on commercial and federal government contracts. The $1.8 million Lorenzo Bridge project included the replacement of a bridge deck’s top layer and approach slabs, curb repairs, metal rail replacement and fixing cracks in abutments, piers and girders. Funded by a grant from the Federal Highway Administration, the State of Idaho Transportation Department administered the grant.

The Davis-Bacon and Related Acts apply to contractors and subcontractors performing on federally funded or assisted contracts in excess of $2,000 for the construction, alteration, or repair (including painting and decorating) of public buildings or public works. Under the act, contractors and subcontractors must pay their laborers employed under the contract no less than the locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits for corresponding work on similar projects in the area.

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 WHD offices.

For more information about 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.

WHD’s mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation’s workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) today announced significant steps to streamline optional-use forms that workers can use to request and employers can use to coordinate leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). WHD also published a Request for Information (RFI) in the Federal Register seeking the public’s feedback on the law’s administration and use.

WHD’s new forms are simpler and easier for employees, employers, leave administrators and healthcare providers to understand and use. Revised with substantial public input, the forms include more questions that users can answer by checking a response box and electronic signature features to reduce contact. WHD believes the changes will reduce the time users spend providing information, improve communications between leave applicants and administrators and reduce the likelihood of violations.

“The improvements we announced today reflect the ongoing commitment of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division to support workers’ families and those who employ them at a time they need it most,” said Wage and Hour Division Administrator Cheryl Stanton. “Making application and administration of the Family and Medical Leave Act more efficient and seeking public input for continued improvements ensures the effective implementation of the law and compliance with it.”

The Department routinely reviews its policies to ensure its regulations reflect changes in the workplace and published the RFI to obtain feedback on challenges or best practices in the use and administration of the FMLA. Information collected will help the Department identify areas for additional compliance assistance to ensure the FMLA is understood by employers and employees alike.

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

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

COUNTY OF CARVER, MN – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the County of Carver, Minnesota, has paid an employee $1,136 in back wages for wrongly denying the worker’s request for paid leave to care for her child when her daycare center closed amid the coronavirus pandemic, a violation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The denial of leave forced the employee to resign.

Investigators found the County of Carver’s Child and Family Department violated the Emergency Family Medical Leave Expansion Act provisions of the FFCRA when it denied the employee paid time away from work to care for her child. Additionally, the county wrongly concluded the employee should be required to choose available emergency daycares when her regular childcare provider was unavailable. No such requirement exists under FFCRA. In addition to paying back wages, the county offered to reinstate the employee to her position, but the employee declined.

“Both public and private sector employers must take all the steps necessary to comply with the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, and provide employees paid leave to care for their children as required,” said Wage and Hour Assistant District Director Jenna Carte, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “With thousands of parents returning to work while some daycares remain closed, employers should review their obligations under this new law to avoid similar violations.”

WHD encourages employers and employees to call the division directly for assistance to better understand the requirements under the FFCRA and use its educational online tools to avoid violations.WHD offers updated information on its website and through extensive outreach efforts to ensure that workers and employers have the information they need about the benefits and protections of this new law.

The FFCRA helps the U.S. combat and defeat the workplace effects of the coronavirus by giving tax credits to American businesses with fewer than 500 employees to provide employees with paid leave for certain reasons related to COVID-19. Please visit WHD’s “Quick Benefits Tips” for information about how much leave workers may qualify to use, and the amounts employers must pay. The law enables employers to provide paid leave reimbursed by tax credits, while at the same time ensuring that workers are not forced to choose between their paychecks and the public health measures needed to combat the virus. 

WHD provides additional information on common issues employers and employees face when responding to the coronavirus and its effects on wages and hours worked under the Fair Labor Standards Act and on job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic.

For more information about the laws enforced by WHD, call 866-4US-WAGE, or visit www.dol.gov/agencies/whd.

For further information about the coronavirus, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

WHD’s mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation’s workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

# # #

MILWAUKEE, WI – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) in Wisconsin, the IRS and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are presenting a series of webinars on paid sick leave, and expanded family and medical leave requirements of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) for employers and business owners.

Employers, business owners and other stakeholders are encouraged to join “Navigating COVID-19: A Virtual Guide for the Employment Community” on July 16, 23 and 30. There is no cost to attend but space is limited and registration is required. Use the links below to register for the date you wish to attend.

WHAT:          Webinar Navigating COVID-19: A Virtual Guide for the Employment Community

WHEN:          July 16, 2020:             2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. CDT

                      July 23, 2020:             2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. CDT

                      July 30, 2020:             2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. CDT

WHERE:       Online (links above)

The webinars will provide FFCRA information including details about paid sick leave for certain reasons related to the coronavirus, and paid expanded family and medical leave for child care related to the coronavirus, and will focus on eligibility, requirements for providing paid leave and tax credits for covered business owners.

Additionally, SBA representatives will be available to answer questions, and provide guidance to help small business owners and entrepreneurs. 

The FFCRA helps the U.S. combat and defeat the workplace effects of the coronavirus by giving tax credits to American businesses with fewer than 500 employees to reimburse the costs of providing employees with paid leave provided for certain reasons related to the coronavirus. Please visit WHD’s “Quick Benefits Tips” for information about how much leave workers may qualify to use, and the amounts employers must pay. The law enables employers to provide paid leave reimbursed by tax credits, while at the same time ensuring that workers are not forced to choose between their paychecks and the public health measures needed to combat the virus. 

WHD provides additional information on common issues employers and employees face when responding to the coronavirus and its effects on wages and hours worked under the Fair Labor Standards Act and on job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic 

For more information about the laws enforced by WHD, call 866-4US-WAGE, or visit www.dol.gov/agencies/whd. 

For further information about the coronavirus, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

WHD’s mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation’s workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services. 

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

# # #

BRIGHTON, MI – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) will present a webinar for Michigan area employers and business owners on paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave requirements of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). WHD’s Detroit, Michigan, office and the Howell Area Chamber of Commerce, Heartland Area Chamber of Commerce and Greater Brighton Area Chamber of Commerce are presenting the event.  

Employers, business owners and other stakeholders are encouraged to join “Navigating COVID-19: A Virtual Guide for the Employment Community” on July 16, 2020, from 10 to 11 a.m. EDT. There is no cost to attend.

WHAT:          Webinar Navigating COVID-19: A Virtual Guide for Employment Community

WHEN:          July 16, 2020, 10 to 11 a.m. EDT

WHERE:       Click here to join

The webinar will provide FFCRA information including details about paid sick leave for certain reasons related to the coronavirus and paid expanded family and medical leave for childcare related to the coronavirus. It will focus on eligibility, requirements for providing paid leave and tax credits for covered business owners.

The FFCRA helps the U.S. combat and defeat the workplace effects of the coronavirus by giving tax credits to American businesses with fewer than 500 employees to reimburse the costs of providing employees with paid leave provided for certain reasons related to the coronavirus. Please visit WHD’s “Quick Benefits Tips” for information about how much leave workers may qualify to use, and the amounts employers must pay. The law enables employers to provide paid leave reimbursed by tax credits, while at the same time ensuring that workers are not forced to choose between their paychecks and the public health measures needed to combat the virus. 

WHD provides additional information on common issues employers and employees face when responding to the coronavirus and its effects on wages and hours worked under the Fair Labor Standards Act and on job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic 

For more information about the laws enforced by WHD, call 866-4US-WAGE, or visit www.dol.gov/agencies/whd. 

For further information about the coronavirus, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

WHD’s mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation’s workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

# # #

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a Request for Information regarding the impact of paid family and medical leave on America’s workforce.

Specifically, the Department’s Women’s Bureau is requesting comment on the effectiveness of current state- and employer-provided paid leave programs and the impact that access or lack of access to paid leave programs has on women and their families. The information provided will help the Department identify promising practices related to eligibility requirements, related costs and administrative models of existing paid leave programs.

“Expanding workplace flexibility has long been a priority of the Women’s Bureau. Paid leave may also be valuable in enhancing the upward mobility of women workers and the well-being of American families,” said Women’s Bureau Director Dr. Laurie Todd-Smith. “The Women’s Bureau is interested in hearing from employers, employees, and other interested parties about the impact of various types of paid leave programs for employees of different income levels and employers of different sizes.”

This information-gathering effort will help the Department and the public identify promising practices related to eligibility requirements, related costs, administrative models of existing paid leave programs and access to information about paid leave.

The Request for Information’s comment period will remain open for 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register. Instructions for submitting comments to the Federal Register are included in its FAQs.

Now marking the 100th anniversary of its creation on June 5, 1920, by Public Law No. 66-259, the Women’s Bureau’s mission is to formulate standards and policies that shall promote the welfare of wage-earning women, improve their working conditions, increase their efficiency and advance their opportunities for profitable employment. Learn more about the bureau.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

BOSTON, MA – The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts has found two Massachusetts construction companies and two of their officers in civil contempt for failing to fulfill certain terms of an August 2016 consent judgment and order requiring them to pay $2,359,685 in back wages and liquidated damages to 478 employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The court’s order on contempt grants a petition the U.S. Department of Labor filed to enforce the back wage provisions of the 2016 consent judgment, which restrained Force Corporation, AB Construction Group Inc., Juliano Fernandes and Anderson dos Santos from withholding from their employees $1,179,842.55 in back wages, plus interest.

Force Corp., AB Construction Group Inc. and dos Santos failed to present any evidence in response to the department’s petition, resulting in the court holding them in contempt. Fernandes argued that he was unable to pay the amounts owed under the consent judgment, but the court found that his “inability to pay argument is significantly undercut by the facts.”

While Fernandes should have been paying his employees under the consent judgment, the court determined that he purchased over a million dollars’ worth of real estate and, in what the court stated “can only be viewed as an act of hubris, he voted himself and his wife a raise” from one of his other companies, Turn Key Lumber Inc., “and chose to take an expensive vacation at the Fountainebleau Resort.” The court further concluded that Fernandes was “either hiding assets or deliberately obfuscating his financial position to avoid paying the Consent Judgment.” Because Fernandes intermingled his assets and liabilities with Turn Key, the court held that it could grant relief in the contempt action based on Turn Key’s assets.

As part of the contempt order, the judge appointed a special master to examine the finances of all four defendants, Fernandes’s wife and five non-defendant entities, including Turn Key, in which the individual defendants and/or Fernandes’s wife have an ownership or controlling interest. The court also ordered the defendants and companies owned or controlled by them not to make certain transfers of money, assets, or property at this time.

Based on an interim report filed by the special master, the court appointed the special master as a receiver and ordered him to take possession of and sell three real properties that were owned, controlled, or used by Fernandes, his wife, and/or Turn Key. The court recently allowed the special master/receiver to enter into specific agreements to list the three properties for sale.

“This decision shows that the U.S. Department of Labor will pursue necessary and effective legal actions to ensure that employers comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act,” said Solicitor of Labor Kate O’Scannlain.

“The U.S. Department of Labor will not stand by and allow employers to renege on their legal obligations. The department took this action to hold the defendants in contempt due to their continued defiance of the 2016 consent judgment, despite numerous attempts at resolution,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor for New England Maia Fisher in Boston. “The defendants’ failure to comply with the consent judgment not only deprived hundreds of workers of their wages but also placed law-abiding employers at a competitive disadvantage. Fernandes built Turn Key’s business using the wages that he had unlawfully withheld from his employees, which is unfair to employers that properly pay workers their wages when they are due.”

“The defendants’ ongoing refusal to pay their employees their hard-earned wages shortchanges workers still waiting a long time to be paid,” said Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Mark Watson. “The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to ensuring employees receive all the wages they have rightfully earned and employers compete on a level playing field.”

The FLSA violations underlying the 2016 consent judgment resulted, in part, from the defendants’ misclassifying the majority of their employees as independent contractors to avoid paying them overtime. The defendants have paid only $527,900 pursuant to the consent judgment, and continue to owe a total of $1,831,785, plus interest, to the affected employees.

The Boston District Office of the department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) conducted the original investigation. The department’s Boston Regional Office of the Solicitor is litigating the case.

For more information about the FLSA, and other laws enforced by WHD, contact the Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the Division.

Scalia v. Force Corporation, AB Construction Group Inc., Juliano Fernandes, and Anderson dos Santos

Civil Action Number: 16-cv-40103-TSH

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division’s (WHD) Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) Program continues to provide an avenue to get workers the wages they are owed, bring employers into compliance and accomplish both goals with an efficiency that saves taxpayers money, with more than $7 million in back wages found for more than 11,000 workers.

“PAID is a common sense program that helps employers comply with the law while ensuring workers get the money they’ve earned,” said Deputy Secretary of Labor Patrick Pizzella. “As more Americans come back to work, the PAID program provides an effective tool for the U.S. Department of Labor to ensure workers around the country are being made whole.”

PAID resolves potential overtime and minimum wage violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The program’s primary objectives are to resolve such claims quickly and without litigation, to improve employers’ compliance and to ensure that more employees receive the back wages they are owed faster.

“For employers that missed payroll, or otherwise inadvertently found themselves in violation of the FLSA as they dealt with the effects of the coronavirus, PAID allows them to step forward, pay their workers the wages they earned, and get back to business,” said Wage and Hour Division Administrator Cheryl Stanton.

Under PAID, employers are encouraged to conduct audits and, if they discover overtime or minimum wage violations, to self-report those violations. Employers using PAID are not subject to liquidated damages or civil money penalties as a condition to finalize settlements. Without exception, employers that participate in the program are required to pay 100 percent of the back wages due for the violations they seek to resolve.

Compared to traditional investigations, compliance actions under PAID find more back wages for workers in less time. Through the end of fiscal year 2019, PAID actions found, on average, more than four times the back wages of traditional full investigations and more than 10 times the back wages per WHD staff hour invested.

As the nation navigates the effects of coronavirus on the workplace, WHD is ramping up efforts to get back wages to workers through its Workers Owed Wages (WOW) online system. The WOW system allows workers and their advocates to find out through a user-friendly series of questions – in English and Spanish – if WHD holds back wages owed to them as the result of an investigation. If they are owed wages, the system puts them in touch with the WHD office that can help them get their check.

WHD provides additional information on common issues employers and employees face when responding to the coronavirus and its effects on wages and hours worked under the FLSA, on job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, and on paid sick and expanded family and medical leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic

For more information about wage laws enforced by WHD, contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd.

WHD’s mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation’s workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave requirements of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided under immigration law. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.