CHARLESTON, SC – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Charleston Division, has ordered Señor Tequila Inc. and Señor Tequila of Summerville LLC to pay $279,269 in back wages and liquidated damages to 68 employees at three South Carolina restaurants. The employer was also assessed $52,615 in civil money penalties.

WHD investigators discovered violations of minimum wage, overtime, and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Jaime and Sandra Villalpando - whose companies do business as Señor Tequila Mexican Restaurant and Cantinas in Charleston, Summerville, and Mount Pleasant - paid an incorrect rate for overtime hours to tipped employees and failed to pay these employees for hours they worked before and after their scheduled shifts. These practices resulted in minimum wage and overtime violations.   

The employers also paid non-tipped employees in part by check with an additional amount paid in cash. The amounts paid by check reflected a payment of the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for the workers’ first 40 hours each week, and time and one-half that rate for overtime hours. The employers then made additional unrecorded cash payments to each of these employees, but failed to include those amounts in their calculations when determining overtime rates. This exclusion resulted in workers being paid overtime rates lower than those required by law. WHD also found the employer failed to record all the hours employees worked and to maintain required records.

“The employers have violated the FLSA previously and are aware of the wage laws and their obligation to pay employees for all hours they have worked,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jamie Benefiel, in Columbia. “The U.S. Department of Labor will hold accountable those employers that continue to violate the law.”

On December 6, 2018, the U.S. Department Labor’s Office of the Solicitor filed a complaint against the three restaurants and their owners to remedy the violations. Jaime and Sandra Villalpando settled with Department and the parties filed a consent judgment and order that the court approved on December 11, 2018. In addition to being ordered to pay the back wages, damages, and to being assessed penalties, the three restaurants and Jaime and Sandra Villalpando are enjoined from committing future violations under the FLSA.

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). 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/whd.

SAVANNAH, GA – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation, Goodwill Industries of the Coastal Empire Inc. – based in Savannah, Georgia – has paid $114,936 in back wages to 165 employees for violating provisions of the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA), Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA), and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators found the thrift store chain failed to pay the required prevailing wage rates to janitorial employees working on three government contracts. The failure was a result of managers altering employees’ time records to reduce the number of hours they had worked and deducting time for short-duration breaks, which the law requires be paid as work time. The employer also deducted time for other breaks employees did not take and moved overtime hours worked from weeks where employees worked more than 40 hours per workweek, to weeks where they worked fewer than 40, resulting in a failure to pay proper overtime.

WHD also determined that because the employer deducted time from employees with disabilities– failing to pay for all the hours that they worked – the resulting pay fell below their legally required commensurate wages under section 14(c) of the FLSA. In addition, the employer failed to pay for vacation time, as required by the SCA.

“Employers are responsible for paying their employees all the wages they have legally earned,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Eric Williams, in Atlanta. “The Department’s Wage and Hour Division offers a wide variety of tools to help employers understand their responsibilities and avoid violations.”

The 165 employees affected worked at the U.S. Army’s Mission Installation Contracting Command on Fort Stewart, Georgia; the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glyco, Georgia; and the Juliette Gordon Low Complex, the Tomochichi Federal Courthouse, and the U.S. Customs House in Savannah, Georgia.

For more information about the SCA, CWHSSA, 14(c), 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/whd.

MT. DORA, FL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), SOL Harvesting LLC – a Haines City, Florida, farm labor contractor – has paid $53,428 in back wages for violating labor provisions of the H-2A visa program.

WHD investigators determined SOL Harvesting LLC – owned by Roberto Carlos Cendejas Perez – failed to provide employees copies of their work contracts and failed to reimburse them for inbound travel expenses from their home countries as required by law. In addition, the company failed to reimburse the employees for their visa and border fees within their first workweek. SOL Harvesting LLC also failed to provide required transportation and housing that met minimum safety and health standards. In addition to the back wages found due, WHD assessed a civil money penalty of $2,368 for the violations.

"Any employer seeking H-2A workers must be ready and willing to abide by all the program's requirements, and must not attempt to shift any of the employer's costs onto the workers," said Wage and Hour District Director Daniel White, in Jacksonville. "The U.S. Department of Labor will continue to safeguard American jobs, level the playing field for law-abiding employers, and ensure that workers are paid the wages that they legally earned. We encourage employers to contact the Wage and Hour Division by phone, online, or to attend any of our outreach events for assistance and to learn more about their responsibilities."

SOL Harvesting LLC provided 99 farmworkers to harvest cucumbers, cabbage, kale, and onions at Scott's Farms in Mt. Dora, Florida, and used the services of H-2A agent Theresa Ward of National Agricultural Consultants LLC.

Before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services can approve an employer's petition for H-2A visa workers, the employer must file an application with the U.S. Department of Labor stating that:

• An insufficient number of U.S. employees are able, willing, qualified, and available to work; and
• The employment of non-immigrant, temporary workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.

For more information about the H-2A and other laws enforced by the Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at http://www.dol.gov/whd.

SANFORD, FL – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation, Central Florida Bakery Inc. – based in Sanford, Florida – has paid $28,055 in back wages and liquidated damages to 18 employees for violating minimum wage, overtime, and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). WHD also assessed the company a civil money penalty of $5,455.

WHD investigators determined that Central Florida Bakery Inc. paid one employee a weekly salary that failed to cover all of the hours that employee worked at $7.25 per hour, a minimum wage violation. The employer also paid overtime-eligible employees flat salaries without regard to the number of hours that they worked. This practice resulted in overtime violations when these employees worked more than 40 hours per week yet the employer failed to pay overtime in addition to their salaries. Additional overtime violations resulted when Central Florida Bakery Inc. failed to include earned bonuses in workers' rates when computing their overtime, resulting in rates lower than the law requires. WHD also found recordkeeping violations when the employer failed to maintain accurate records of the hours employees worked. A previous WHD investigation concluded in 2015 also disclosed overtime violations.

"Employers have the responsibility to pay employees all the wages they have legally earned," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Daniel White, in Jacksonville, Florida. "We encourage employers to contact us with any questions they may have, and to use the wide variety of tools we offer to help them understand their obligations and to comply with the law."

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). 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/whd.

LOS ANGELES, CA – The U.S. Department of Labor recovered more than $1.5 million in back wages and damages for 668 Southern California garment industry employees in investigations by its Wage and Hour Division (WHD) in Fiscal Year 2018.

WHD investigations found employers paid below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. WHD also determined that employers it investigated often failed to pay employees overtime at time-and-one-half of their regular rates of pay when they worked more than 40 hours in a week, as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

As part of its efforts, WHD officials continue to educate employers and to meet with retailers to encourage them to buy only from suppliers that comply with federal labor laws, and to examine the role that garment pricing plays in a manufacturer's ability to pay workers legally required minimum wages.

"We still find high rates of noncompliance even after years of strong education and outreach efforts balanced with targeted enforcement in the garment industry," said Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Ruben Rosalez, in San Francisco. "These employees are regularly denied minimum wage and overtime for the long, hard hours they put in on the job. All those in the industry need to recognize that if the price they pay for production done in the U.S. is too low, it can cause egregious minimum wage and overtime violations, unfairly undercutting their competition."

Notable results of the Division's FY2018 investigations in Los Angeles include:

• $49,974 to 32 employees after Valle Fashion failed to pay overtime to employees who, in many cases, earned less than the federal minimum wage. Valle also failed to maintain adequate time records.
• $61,765 to 18 employees who DAWA Fashion failed to pay at least the federal minimum wage and overtime. Investigators determined DAWA used computer software to falsify pay records.
• $32,623 to 11 employees after KIT failed to pay employees the federal minimum wage and overtime. Investigators also cited KIT for recordkeeping violations,
• $54,211 to 16 employees for the failure of Casa Q to pay employees the federal minimum wage and overtime. WHD also cited Casa Q for recordkeeping violations.

Employers that discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. For more information about the FLSA 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 https://www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the Division.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The U.S. Department of Labor has placed a Wage and Hour Division investigator in Fairbanks, Alaska, to enhance its outreach and enforcement activities, and to ensure compliance with federal labor laws in the Alaska Interior Region.

The Department added the position to maintain an enforcement presence in the region during a period of unprecedented military growth. The Alaska Economic Trends report issued in January 2018 suggests that projects related to two new squadrons of F-35s planned for Eielson Air Force Base will spur hundreds of millions of dollars in new construction projects for the Fairbanks area. In response, the Division seeks to ensure employers pay prevailing wages to those employed on federally funded projects, and to raise awareness of - and compliance with - a myriad of federal labor laws, including the Davis Bacon and Service Contract Acts.

"Our Fairbanks presence will help to keep pace with the increase in labor that comes with increased military infrastructure spending," said Wage and Hour Regional Administrator Ruben Rosalez, in San Francisco. "A strong education and enforcement program helps to ensure that businesses and contractors comply with federal labor laws."

The new Alaskan resource in Fairbanks expands WHD's presence beyond Anchorage. Investigators in Alaska report to the WHD District Office in Seattle, Washington. Employers, employees, or others interested in contacting the Division in Fairbanks should call (206) 398-8039.

Employers that discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. For more information about the FLSA 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 https://www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the Division.

LEESBURG, FL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), White Aluminum & Windows LLC – based in Leesburg, Florida – will pay $102,767 in back wages to 41 employees for violating overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators determined the employer paid overtime-eligible managers and staff flat salaries without regard to the number of hours that they worked. This practice resulted in overtime violations when the employer failed to pay overtime in addition to salaries to employees who worked more than 40 hours per week. White Aluminum & Windows LLC also failed to include earned commissions and bonuses in workers' pay rates when computing overtime pay and based overtime only on each employee's base rate - causing additional overtime violations. WHD also found recordkeeping violations resulting from the employer's failure to maintain accurate records of the hours employees worked.

"Paying employees on a salary basis does not necessarily exempt them from overtime pay when they work over 40 hours in one week," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Daniel White, in Jacksonville. "Employers must understand their obligations and responsibilities under the law. We encourage all employers to make use of the various tools we provide to help them understand and comply with the law, and to call us for assistance."

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). 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/whd.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is conducting a statewide survey of active residential construction projects in Indiana between August 1, 2017, and July 31, 2018, to establish prevailing wage rates, as required under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts. The data collection initiative is not limited to federally funded construction projects.

“Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rates should reflect the actual wages and fringe benefits paid to construction workers in the county where the work takes place,” said Wage and Hour Division’s Midwest Regional Administrator Michael Lazzeri. “The U.S. Department of Labor needs the full participation of the Indiana construction industry community to set prevailing wage rates. Full participation by contractors and interested parties will allow us to provide accurate prevailing wages and to create a complete wage determination which, in turn, reduces the need for contractors to request additional classifications.”

Notification letters and data collection forms (WD-10s) are being sent to interested parties and contractors known to the Wage and Hour Division. Data must be postmarked by May 31, 2019, to be included. To complete the survey electronically, visit www.dol.gov/whd/programs/dbra/wd10/index.htm.

You do not need a letter to answer the survey. If you would like to participate, or have questions regarding the survey process and forms, contact Alecia Upshaw at 312-596-7208.

AUSTIN, TX - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) will present an educational forum about developments in its policies and regulations, and its Payroll Audit Independent Determination Program (PAID), in Austin, Texas, on December 17, 2018.

PAID facilitates resolution of 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 with overtime and minimum wage obligations, and to ensure that more employees receive the back wages they are owed – faster.

The forum will include members of the Division’s Washington, D.C., Austin and Dallas offices as well as representatives from the Texas Workforce Commission, ACC-Center for Nonprofit Studies, and employer associations from the area.

Attendance is free, but pre-registration is required. Complete advance registration.

For more information about the PAID program, visit www.dol.gov/whd/PAID, or call 866-4US-WAGE. For more information about this event, contact Community Outreach Specialist Brenda Hernandez at Hernandez.Brenda@dol.gov or (512)236-2576.

HOUSTON, TX - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) will present an educational forum about developments in its policies and regulations, and its Payroll Audit Independent Determination Program (PAID), in Houston, Texas, on December 6, 2018.

PAID facilitates resolution of 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 with overtime and minimum wage obligations, and to ensure that more employees receive the back wages they are owed – faster.

WHAT:       Wage and Hour Division Educational Forum
Payroll Audit Independent Determination Program (PAID) Educational Forum

WHEN:      December 6, 2018
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. CST

WHERE:     Houston Community College-West Loop Campus Auditorium
5601 West Loop South
Houston, TX 77081

The forum will include members of the Division’s Washington, D.C., and Houston offices, and Dallas regional staff as well as representatives from the Texas Workforce Commission and employer associations from the area. Attendance is free, but pre-registration is required. Complete advance registration.

For more information about the PAID program, visit www.dol.gov/whd/PAID, or call 866-4US-WAGE. For more information about this event, contact Community Outreach Specialists Ana Arredondo at Arredondo.Ana@dol.gov or Lucia Garcia at Garcia.Lucia@dol.gov.