MINNEAPOLIS, MN – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a federal lawsuit seeking an injunction and payment of $131,508 – representing $65,754 in overtime back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages – for 25 employees of a Minneapolis flooring company.

The filing follows an investigation by the Department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) that found Luxury Floors Inc. and its chief executive officer Ruben Ruiz violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Investigators determined that the employer paid employees straight time rates for all the hours that they worked, failing to pay overtime when they worked beyond 40 hours in a week. The company also failed to maintain time records and to record the names, hours, and payments made to day laborers who the company paid in cash.

“The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to ensuring employees receive the wages they have rightfully earned, and that employers compete on a level playing field,” said David King, Wage and Hour District Director in Minneapolis. “Employers can avoid wage violations by contacting the Wage and Hour Division for assistance to ensure they are in compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act.”

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). 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 WHD.

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Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
Docket Number: 18-cv-1489

GLASGOW, KY – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has debarred Christopher Lee Smith – owner of Christopher Lee Smith Farms in Glasgow – from applying for certification to request temporary foreign workers under the H-2A agricultural worker visa program for three years. WHD also assessed the employer a $35,755 civil penalty for violating the labor provisions of the H-2A program, and found that Smith owed $58,820 in back wages to 14 employees.

WHD investigators found Smith violated the requirements of the H-2A visa program by failing to reimburse foreign workers for their transportation expenses to and from their home countries as the law requires, failing to reimburse employees for expenses related to obtaining their visas, failing to keep required time and pay records, and failing to pay employees their wages when due. Smith also failed to pay the required minimum wage to H-2A visa workers, required by law so that their employment does not depress the wages of U.S. workers in the area.

“Any employer seeking H-2A workers must be ready and willing to abide by all of the program’s requirements, and must not attempt to shift any of the employer’s costs onto the workers,” said Karen Garnett, Wage and Hour Division District Director in Louisville. “This case demonstrates our commitment to safeguard American jobs, level the playing field for law-abiding employers, and protect vulnerable workers from being paid less than they are legally owed.”

The H-2A temporary agricultural program establishes a means for agricultural employers, who anticipate a shortage of domestic workers, to bring non-immigrant foreign workers to the U.S. to perform agricultural labor or services of a temporary or seasonal nature.

The program requires an employer to attest to the Department of Labor that it will offer a wage that equals or exceeds the highest of the following: the prevailing wage for the occupation and geographic area, applicable federal minimum wage, state minimum wage, or local minimum wage. This wage will be paid to the H-2A workers and certain similarly employed U.S. workers during the entire period of the approved labor certification. The program also establishes recruitment and displacement standards to protect similarly employed U.S. workers.

For more information about 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 https://www.dol.gov/whd.

MARATHON, FL – Marathon Paradise Inc., which operates a seafood restaurant based in Marathon, Florida, will pay $210,258 in back wages to 78 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found the employer violated overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators determined that Marathon Paradise Inc. – doing business as Island Fish Company Restaurant – paid all employees straight-time instead of paying overtime at time-and-one-half for hours they worked beyond 40 in a workweek. The violations affected employees including servers, cooks, and dishwashers.  Recordkeeping violations were cited when the employer failed to display legally required postings outlining FLSA requirements in a conspicuous area readily accessible by employees.

“The resolution of this case puts these wages into the hands of those who earned them, and demonstrates how our enforcement levels the playing field for law-abiding employers,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Tony Pham, in Miami. “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.”

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/whd.

BATON ROUGE, LA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has opened registration for a comprehensive compliance seminar for employers and federal contractors on the requirements of federal labor laws. Attendance is free; pre-registration is required.

The training event will be held June 7 at the Baton Rouge Community College, 201 Community College Drive. Attendees should check-in from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. on June 7. The program ends at 5:00 p.m.

“The Wage and Hour Division continues to foster good jobs through increased awareness of and improved compliance with the requirements of federal labor laws,” said Betty Campbell, Wage and Hour Regional Administrator.

The event will highlight the missions and responsibilities of the Department of Labor, and will include several educational workshops designed to help employers and federal contractors understand and comply with workplace requirements, including those of the Louisiana Workforce Commission, the Small Business Administration and the Department. The seminar is particularly relevant to the work of human resources, payroll, and contract compliance staff in all industries. Completion certificates will be issued.

Space for this event is limited. Please register using the online link at 2018 Educational and Outreach Forum - Baton Rouge Registration.

NEW ORLEANS, LA – Dong Phuong Oriental Bakery Inc., doing business as DP Bakeshop, will pay $127,128 in back wages to 43 employees to settle overtime and recordkeeping violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) found in an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD).

WHD investigators found Dong Phuong Oriental Bakery Inc. in New Orleans violated the overtime requirements of the FLSA by paying employees straight time for all the hours they worked, and failing to pay them overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a work week. Additionally, the company violated FLSA record keeping provisions when it failed to keep required payroll records for some employees, paying them in cash with no documentation.

“Employees who work long, hard hours to make ends meet count on being paid for every hour they work, including the time-and-one-half the law requires when they work overtime,” said Betty Campbell, Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator. “The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to ensuring that employees receive the wages they’ve earned, and that employers compete on a level playing field where everyone plays by the same rules.”

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/whd including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the Division.

HIALEAH GARDENS, FL – South Florida medical transportation service company Care Transport Service LLC will pay $75,358 in back wages to 51 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found the employer violated overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators determined that Care Transport Service LLC, a non-emergency transportation company in Hialeah Gardens, Florida, failed to pay drivers for time they spent working from home confirming their appointments with patients for the following day. This practice resulted in overtime violations when these employees worked more than 40 hours per week, yet were not paid time-and-one-half for those hours. Additionally, the employer inaccurately classified one salaried dispatcher as exempt from overtime, resulting in the company paying him a flat salary without overtime when he worked more than 40 hours per week. Care Transport Service LLC’s failure to maintain accurate records of the number of hours employees worked resulted in a recordkeeping violation.

“When employers fail to pay employees the wages they have legally earned, it not only harms those employees but also allows those companies to gain an unfair economic advantage over their law-abiding competitors,” said Tony Pham, Wage and Hour Division District Director in Miami. “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.”

Care Transport Services LLC provides medical transportation for clinics in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

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/whd.

MIAMI, FL – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has found Endemol Latino NA, a TV production company in Miami, owes $70,341 in back wages to 82 employees for violating overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Endemol Latino NA, which does business as Endemol Shine North America, will pay the back wages after WHD investigators determined the company was in violation for inaccurately classifying some employees as salaried exempt, resulting in Endemol Latino NA paying them a flat salary without additional overtime compensation when they worked more than 40 hours per week. Additionally, Endemol Latino NA failed to pay other employees for all hours worked resulting in additional time-and-one-half for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. The company also failed to maintain the required records of hours worked.

“Employers must understand their obligations and responsibilities under the law. Simply because a pay practice may appear to be common does not, in any way, mean that it complies with the law,” said Tony Pham, Wage and Hour Division District Director in Miami. “The U.S. Department of Labor encourages all employers to make use of the many tools it provides 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). 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.

AUBURN, NE – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found that El Portal Mexican Restaurant locations in Auburn, Nebraska, and Nebraska City, Nebraska, violated the minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping, and child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). El Portal Mexican Restaurant will pay 23 employees $203,884 in back wages to resolve the violations.

WHD investigators found the restaurants’ FLSA violations included:

• Paying flat salaries to kitchen employees, regardless of the number of hours they worked. This practice resulted in overtime violations when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek and received no overtime pay;
• Failing to meet minimum wage requirements when the restaurants failed to pay servers for all of the hours that they worked, and when they made deductions from wages for the cost of uniforms that exceeded allowable limits;
• Failing to maintain accurate and legally required records of the number of hours employees worked, and amounts deducted from wages for uniform costs; and
• Requiring minors under 16 to work past 9 p.m. and longer than 3 hours on school nights in violation of the FLSA’s child labor provisions.

“Ensuring employees receive their hard-earned wages and assisting employers with understanding their obligations under federal labor laws is fundamental to the mission of the Wage and Hour Division,” said Richard Tesarek, Wage and Hour Assistant District Director in Omaha. “Our enforcement ensures employers compete on a level playing field and protects employees. Employers can avoid wage violations by contacting the Wage and Hour Division confidentially for assistance.”

In addition to paying the back wages due immediately, El Portal Restaurant has taken steps to ensure compliance with the FLSA by installing time clocks, and training management about the requirements of the FLSA.

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 WHD.

NEW HAVEN, CT – Following an investigation by its Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the U.S. Department of Labor has filed a federal lawsuit to recover unpaid overtime wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages for 51 current and former employees of Care at Home LLC of New London, Connecticut. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, the suit alleges that Care at Home LLC and its co-owners Daniel Karp and Suzanne Karp violated the overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) when they paid straight time instead of overtime to health care workers who worked more than 40 hours per week.

In addition, WHD investigators found that the defendants improperly deducted $33 per day from the employees’ wages for food and housing expenses, from January 2016 through at least October of 2016. The housing deductions created violations because the employees were often required to spend the night at the client’s home, primarily for the benefit of the employer, and because the employer failed to maintain accurate records substantiating the cost of the furnished lodging. The employers also failed to maintain records of food costs. The law limits the deduction employers may make to $10.88 per day absent records substantiating a higher deduction.

The suit also alleges that the defendants failed to record the times when employees began and ended work, and when clients’ needs interrupted their sleep. Recording of sleep interruptions is necessary because, among other reasons, if interruptions are so frequent that the employee cannot sleep without interruption for 5 hours, the entire sleep period must be considered paid work time. On the facts found during this investigation, WHD credited 8 hours per day for sleep time for each 24-hour period worked.

“The Wage and Hour Division will conduct investigations and collect back wages and liquidated damages, when appropriate, to ensure employers comply with the requirements of the law,” said David R. Gerrain, Wage and Hour Division District Director in Hartford. “We encourage employers to make use of the many tools we offer to explain their legal responsibilities.”

“An employer’s failure to pay required wages and to maintain complete and accurate records short-changes its employees and puts law-abiding employers at a competitive disadvantage,” said Michael Felsen, Regional Solicitor of Labor in Boston. “The U.S. Department of Labor will continue to use appropriate legal resources – including lawsuits, when necessary, to protect employees and to ensure a level playing field for employers.”

Care at Home LLC is a third-party employer that provides personal care services to aged and infirm clients in private homes and assisted living facilities.

WHD’s New Haven Area Office conducted the investigation. Senior Trial Attorney Theresa Schneider Fromm of the Boston Regional Office of the Solicitor is litigating the case for the Division.

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.

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Acosta v. Care at Home LLC, doing business as Care at Home, Daniel Karp, and Suzanne Karp

Civil Action Number: No. 3:18-cv-00711-AWT

WINDSOR, CO – As a result of a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation, Coloscapes Concrete Inc. has paid $21,750 in back wages and $31,496 in civil money penalties to settle H-2B non-immigrant visa program violations, as well as $6,454 to resolve overtime and recordkeeping violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD found Coloscapes Concrete Inc. violated provisions of the H-2B nonimmigrant visa program by collecting a $1,000 recruitment fee in cash from H-2B workers and by accepting kickbacks from reimbursement checks intended to compensate employees for visa fees and inbound transportation costs from their home countries. Coloscapes Concrete Inc. further violated provisions the H-2B program when it paid U.S. workers less than it paid similarly employed guest workers, and when it laid off U.S. workers shortly before hiring guest workers to perform the same work. The company also failed to pay legally required overtime to 27 cement masons and concrete finishers and failed to maintain complete and accurate records. The overtime violations resulted when payroll deductions for the employee’s housing exceeded the limits allowed under the FLSA.

“The U.S. Department of Labor ensures the recruitment and displacement standards of the H-2B program are followed in order to protect American workers,” said Betty Campbell, Wage and Hour Division Administrator. “We encourage employers to reach out to our local offices for confidential assistance with any of our labor laws, or to visit our website to make use of the numerous tools we provide to help them understand their legal obligations.”

The H-2B non-immigrant visa program permits employers to hire nonimmigrants temporarily to perform non-agricultural labor or services in the U.S.

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/whd including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the Division.