ELKINS PARK, PA – The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has ordered SM Choi Inc. – which operates four fast-food establishments in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania – to pay $93,146 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 38 employees for willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Department also assessed the employer $26,121 in civil penalties.

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found SM Choi Inc. willfully violated overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the FLSA.

WHD investigators found that the employer paid cashiers and cooks flat salaries, in cash, without regard to the number of hours that they actually worked. This practice resulted in violations when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek but the employer did not pay overtime. SM Choi Inc. also failed to maintain required records of the number of hours employees worked. WHD found the employer engaging in this same practice in a previous WHD investigation in 2016.

"SM Choi Inc. employees worked five to six days per week, for an average of 10 hours per day, and were denied the wages they rightfully earned," said Wage and Hour Division District Office Director James Cain, in Philadelphia. "This enforcement action and consent judgment will help to ensure that workers are paid the wages they are legally owed and that employers in the restaurant industry operate on a level playing field."

WHD is committed to providing employers with the tools they need to understand their obligations and to comply with federal labor laws. Employers who 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 Division, contact its 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.

WASHINGTON DC – The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division will host a public listening session in Washington, D.C., to gather views on the Part 541 white-collar exemption regulations, often known as the "Overtime Rule," on October 17, 2018, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. EDT.

Issued under the Fair Labor Standards Act, these regulations implement exemptions from the overtime-pay requirements for executive, administrative, professional, and certain other employees. The Department plans to update the Overtime Rule, and is interested in hearing the views and ideas of participants on possible revisions to the regulations.

WHAT:
Public Listening Session on the Part 541 White-Collar Exemption Regulations

WHERE:
U.S. Department of Labor
Frances Perkins Building
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20210
(Enter at the 3rd and C Street NW entrance)

WHEN:
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
10 a.m. to 12 p.m. EDT

There is no fee to attend the listening session; however, registration is required. To register, click here. 

For more information about the Overtime Rule, click here. For more information on the Fair Labor Standards Act, and other federal wage laws administered by the Wage and Hour Division, call the department's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), or visit the agency's website at http://dol.gov/whd.

CHATTANOOGA, TN – A Tennessee poultry processing facility has paid $36,038 in back wages to 69 employees and a civil penalty of $7,469 after a U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found Koch Foods Inc. violated the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Investigators determined that the employer did not accurately record the total daily and weekly hours worked by some employees. Consequently, workers did not receive wages for all the hours they worked, and overtime violations ensued when the employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek and were not paid time-and-one-half.

"Tracking and recording workers' hours is the responsibility of the employer," said Wage and Hour Division's District Director Nettie Lewis, in Nashville. "The outcome of this investigation serves as a reminder to all employers to review their pay practices to ensure workers are being paid for all the hours that they work. We remain committed to ensuring that employers who comply with the law do not find themselves at a competitive disadvantage to those who do not."

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) will offer a compliance seminar for contractors, unions, workers and other interested parties to provide information on the rules governing federal prevailing wage requirements.

WHD will offer the training on October 24, 2018, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., at the Ivy Tech Community College Culinary and Conference Center, 2820 North Meridian St., Indianapolis, Indiana 46208.

The training is a component of the Wage and Hour Division's ongoing effort to increase awareness and enhanced compliance with federal prevailing wage requirements.

While seminar attendance is free, preregistration is required. Registration can be completed through the online registration link at Prevailing Wage Survey and Compliance Seminar- Indianapolis.

For more information on the Davis-Bacon Act, the Service Contract Act, and other federal wage laws related to government contracts administered by the Wage and Hour Division, call the department's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or visit the agency's website at https://dol.gov/whd.

CHARLESTON, SC – The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of South Carolina has ordered Hugo Villalpando, the owner of La Carreta Mexican restaurants in Charleston and Summerville, South Carolina, to pay $190,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 58 employees for violating the minimum wage, overtime, and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The action comes after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD).

The WHD investigation of the restaurants - owned by Villalpando through entities La Carreta of Folly Inc. and La Carreta Inc. - determined that the restaurants violated minimum wage requirements when it failed to include some employees on the payroll, did not directly pay employees at all, and allowed employees to work only for tips. Overtime violations resulted from several of the employer's pay practices, including paying workers for fewer than 40 hours per week without regard to the number of hours they actually worked. Time records indicated employees regularly worked up to 50 hours per week, yet payroll never included those hours. Additional overtime violations resulted when the restaurants paid cooks and bussers flat salaries, without overtime, for workweeks longer than 40 hours.

In the instances when La Carreta and Villalpando paid overtime to servers, they violated the FLSA when they based overtime rates on the servers' direct cash wages of $2.13 per hour rather than on the full minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, as the law requires.

WHD also cited the employer's failure to record all the hours employees worked, and keep any records of some workers' employment.

"This employer is obligated to pay his employees the wages they have legally earned, and must never gain a competitive advantage over those that comply with the law," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jamie Benefiel, in Columbia. "The U.S. Department of Labor encourages all to reach out to their local Wage and Hour Division office for information about how to comply, and to make use of the many tools we offer to explain their responsibilities and how to avoid violations."
WHD conducted an investigation of La Carreta's Summerville restaurant in 2011 and found the same violations.

The Department's Office of the Solicitor filed a complaint against the two restaurants and their owner to remedy the violations found in the current investigation. Villalpando settled with Department and the parties filed a consent judgment and order that the court approved on September 10, 2018. In addition to being ordered to pay the back wages and damages, the two restaurants and 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.

PHOENIX, AZ – The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona has entered a consent judgment requiring Bulletproof Securities Inc. of Phoenix, Arizona, to pay $39,500 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 151 employees following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) that identified minimum wage, overtime, and recordkeeping violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators found that Bulletproof Securities Inc. failed to pay employees for hours they spent training, which resulted in minimum wage and overtime violations. The employer's failure to include the training hours that employees recorded and submitted in their weekly time sheets resulted in recordkeeping violations.

"This judgment ensures the workers will receive their rightfully earned wages, and that the employer competes on a fair and level playing field," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Eric Murray, in Phoenix. "We encourage employers to contact the Department of Labor for assistance and to use the many tools we provide to help them."

The judgment enjoins and restrains the employer from violating the FLSA, including the prohibition to discriminate against any employee as a result of the litigation or for exercising his or her rights. The regional Solicitor's Office in San Francisco litigated the case for the Department.

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). 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 www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by WHD.

MILAN, TN – American Ordnance LLC – based in Middletown, Iowa – has paid $678,296 in back wages, overtime, and fringe benefits to 63 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found the employer violated provisions of the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (SCA), and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA). American Ordnance LLC is an ammunition manufacturer for the U.S. military performing work at the Milan Munitions Plant in Milan, Tennessee.

WHD investigators found the manufacturer failed to segregate work subject to SCA requirements performed by its subcontractor, Jabezco Group Inc., and failed to include SCA requirements in their contract. Failure to include those requirements resulted in that subcontractor failing to pay its employees hourly rates that met or exceeded the required rates for each classification of work performed. The subcontractor also subsequently failed to pay proper vacation, holiday, and health and welfare benefits as required by the applicable collective bargaining agreements.

Investigators also found American Ordnance LLC failed to pay accurate overtime rates based on applicable prevailing wage rates when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek.

"Contractors that bid on government contracts should be aware of and must adhere to all applicable laws when paying employees," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Nettie Lewis, in Nashville. "We provide a number of tools to help employers understand and comply with the labor requirements on government contracts. Our education and enforcement work in this area levels the playing field for all contractors who perform work for the government."

The SCA requires contractors and subcontractors performing services on prime contracts in excess of $2,500 to pay service employees in various classes no less than the wage rates and fringe benefits found prevailing in the locality, or the rates, including prospective increases, contained in a predecessor contractor's collective bargaining agreement.

For more information about the FLSA, SCA, CWHSSA, and other laws enforced by the Division, contact the Division's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or visit the Division's web site. The Division also offers a search tool which allows users to determine if you are owed back wages collected by the Division.

NAPLES, FL – Fish Ristorante LLC has paid $50,391 in back wages and liquidated damages to 57 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found the Naples, Florida, restaurant violated the overtime provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators determined that Fish Ristorante LLC – doing business as Fish – failed to pay employees overtime at time-and-one-half their regular rates of pay when they worked more than 40 hours in a work week, as the law requires. Instead, Fish Ristorante LLC paid workers their straight time rates without regard to the number of hours they worked. The violations affected employees including servers, cooks, food runners, and kitchen staff.

"Employers must not gain an unfair competitive advantage by paying employees below the wages they have earned," said Wage and Hour Division District Director James Schmidt, in Tampa. "The Department's Wage and Hour Division offers a wide variety of tools to help employers understand their obligations, and encourage anyone with questions to call us confidentially at any time for guidance."

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.

PORT WENTWORTH, GA – Evicore Healthcare – a medical benefits management company based in Bluffton, South Carolina – has paid a former employee $17,760 in lost wages after a U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation determined the company violated the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

WHD investigators found Evicore Healthcare failed to allow the Georgia-based employee to return to work at the conclusion of an FMLA-leave period, despite being cleared by a doctor and providing the employer with the physician's return-to-work certification. Evicore Healthcare also failed to maintain some portions of records required by the FMLA.

"Employees must not be retaliated against or prevented from exercising their rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Eric Williams, in Atlanta. "This law allows for critically needed workplace flexibility precisely when employees need it the most. We offer a wide variety of tools to help employers understand their responsibilities and to help them comply."

For more information about the FMLA 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/.

NAMPA, ID – G Man Insulation LLC – an insulation and drywall company based in Nampa, Idaho – will pay $272,253 in back wages, damages, and penalties after a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) affecting 39 employees. 

WHD investigators found G Man Insulation LLC paid workers either by the hour and by the day, and in both cases failed to pay overtime when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. The investigation found the employer paid employees in cash, at straight time, for overtime hours that were not recorded in the employer's payroll records. The company will pay $126,262 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to resolve the violations. G Man Insulation LLC has also been assessed $19,728 in civil penalties for the violations.

"Ensuring that construction workers are paid the wages they have earned will level playing field in the industry," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Thomas Silva in Portland. "Violations and penalties like these can be avoided. We encourage all employers to make use of the many tools we offer to help them understand their responsibilities, and to reach out to us directly, and confidentially, with any questions they may have about how to comply with the law."  

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). 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 www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by WHD.