FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation, Fort Lauderdale window and door installation contractor ADCO Installers LLC will pay $103,608 in back wages to 35 employees. WHD investigators found the employer violated overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Investigators determined ADCO Installers LLC paid employees straight-time rates, instead of the required time-and-one-half, for hours they worked over 40 in a work week.

“The Department of Labor is committed to ensuring that employees receive the wages they have earned for all the hours they have worked,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Tony Pham. “The Wage and Hour Division is also determined to ensure that employers who fail to comply with the law do not gain an unfair competitive advantage over those who do.”

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

MIAMI, FL – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation, Cartagena’s Inc., a Miami-based commercial aircraft paint contractor, will pay $54,704 in back wages to 31 employees for violating overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators found Cartagena’s Inc. failed to include time employees spent traveling between job sites when determining how many hours they had worked.  Doing so created overtime violations when these unpaid hours occurred in workweeks longer than 40 hours. The employer also incorrectly considered workers to be independent contractors rather than employees, which created additional overtime violations when the inaccurate classification resulted in Cartagena’s Inc. paying employees straight-time rates for their overtime hours. The company also failed to keep accurate time records of the hours employees worked, resulting in FLSA recordkeeping violations.

“When employers fail to pay employees the wages they have legally earned, it harms employees and also allows those companies to gain an unfair advantage over their law-abiding competitors,” said Tony Pham, Wage and Hour Division District Director. “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 Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at http://www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by WHD.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), WM Limited Partnership-1998, a Grand Rapids-based franchisee of 53 Wendy’s Restaurants, has paid $258,249 in civil money penalties for child labor violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) at all 53 of its Michigan restaurants.

WHD investigators determined WM Limited Partnership-1998, which does business as Wendy’s of Michigan, permitted three 14- and 15-year-old employees to operate manual deep fryers and 422 minors to work more than 3 hours on school days or more than 8 hours on non-school days in violation of the child labor provisions of the FLSA.

“Employment standards for 14- and 15-year-olds ensure minors gain a positive work experience that does not interfere with their education, health, and well-being,” said Mary O’Rourke, Wage and Hour District Director in Grand Rapids. “Child labor violations can be avoided when employers understand the rules. We encourage employers to contact us for guidance, and use the wide variety of tools we offer to help them comply with the law.”

WM Limited Partnership has agreed to train store managers and frontline supervisors on child labor laws, conduct regular payroll audits to monitor the work hours of minors, improve time-keeping practices, and require minor employees to wear special shirts, hats, or other identifying markers to help management easily identify them at work.

For more information about the FLSA, child labor provisions and other laws enforced by WHD, contact the Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at http://www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the Division.

ERLANGER, KY – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Erlanger-based plumbing contractor D&B Plumbing has paid $73,470 in back wages, overtime, and fringe benefits to eight employees. Investigators determined the company violated labor provisions of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA).

D&B Plumbing worked as a sub-contractor on a senior housing project funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The DBRA requires all contractors and subcontractors performing work on federal and certain federally-funded projects to pay laborers and mechanics, including plumbers, the proper prevailing wage rates and fringe benefits as determined by the Secretary of Labor.

The Department’s investigation revealed D&B Plumbing, doing business as Signature Plumbing, misclassified employees doing the work of plumbers as laborers. The employer then paid these employees the rate applicable to laborers, which is less than the rate required for plumbers, creating the prevailing rate and fringe benefit violation. Additionally, the contractor miscalculated overtime due to workers who worked in more than one capacity and at different rates of pay for those roles. Instead of basing overtime on either the weighted average of those rates or on the rate in effect when the overtime hours were worked, the employer based their overtime calculation on the lowest hourly rate earned by the employee.  

“No contractor should gain an economic advantage by paying workers below the wages and fringe benefits required on a prevailing wage project,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Karen Garnett, in Louisville. “Not only does this practice undercut what the workers involved are legally owed for their work, it results in unfair competition for contractors who play by the rules.”

For more information about the DBRA 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 http://www.dol.gov/whd/.

ANN ARBOR, MI – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that Min & Kim Inc., an Ann Arbor restaurant doing business as Seoul Garden of Ann Arbor, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Min & Kim Inc. was ordered by a federal court to pay $112,212 in back wages to 27 employees to resolve alleged federal wage violations, including failure to pay overtime and maintain accurate payroll and time records.

Investigators determined Min & Kim Inc. paid cooks, sushi chefs, cooks’ helpers, servers, dishwashers, and busboys a flat amount of money per day, regardless of the number of hours they worked. When employees worked beyond 40 hours in a workweek, the company failed to pay legally required overtime.

“The 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 Wage and Hour District Director Timolin Mitchell, in Detroit. “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.”

The order by the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division resolves a lawsuit brought by the Department against the restaurant and its owners, Kounwoo Hur and Sung Hee Kim, to recover the wages.

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 http://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 Eastern District of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Docket Number: 2:15-cv-14310

TROY, MI – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation, Nino Salvaggio Fruit and Vegetable Markets—operator of three Detroit-area fruit and vegetable markets—has agreed to pay $135,657 in back overtime wages and interest to 212 employees to resolve a federal lawsuit.  

Investigators determined Nino Salvaggio Fruit and Vegetable Markets failed to pay employees for time they spent on rest breaks shorter than 20 minutes, as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Failing to pay for this time resulted in overtime violations when employees worked more than 40 hours in a work week, as well as in recordkeeping violations when the excluded hours were not recorded. The violations affected employees at Salvaggio’s locations in Clinton Township, St. Clair Shores, and Troy.

“Employees depend on receiving the wages they have rightfully earned,” said Wage and Hour District Director Timolin Mitchell, in Detroit. “Wage violations can be avoided when employers understand the rules. We encourage employers to contact the Wage and Hour Division for guidance on laws governing rest breaks and any other requirements so they can avoid violations. The division offers many tools to help employers comply with the law.”

To resolve this matter, the employer agreed to the entry of a consent judgment issued by the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, Southern 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 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 Eastern District of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Docket Number: 2:17-cv-14136

HAINES CITY, FL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), landscaper Southern Sod will pay $79,758 in back wages and liquidated damages to 70 employees. The WHD investigation found the company violated overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Investigators found Southern Sod paid employees flat rates per day, regardless of the number of hours that they worked. Overtime violations resulted when these employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek and received only those day rates, with no overtime. This same day-rate practice also resulted in recordkeeping violations, as the employer failed to keep track of the number of hours employees worked.

“It is critical for employers to understand their obligations and responsibilities under the law. Simply because a pay practice may appear to be common in a particular industry does not in any way mean that it complies with the law,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director James Schmidt. “We encourage all employers to make use of the many tools we provide to help them understand and comply with the law, and to contact us for assistance.”

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 http://www.dol.gov/whd/.

BIRMINGHAM, AL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, Taziki’s Restaurants LLC – which operates 14 restaurants in Alabama, Georgia, and Virginia – has paid $135,844 to 26 employees to resolve violations of overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Investigators found the restaurant chain – doing business as Taziki’s Mediterranean Café – failed to combine the hours that individual employees worked at multiple locations in the same workweek to determine whether overtime was due. Instead, the employer paid each employee with multiple paychecks corresponding to each location. This practice resulted in failure to pay overtime when an employee’s combined hours totaled more than 40 in a workweek.

Investigators also found that Taziki’s Restaurants LLC failed to pay workers for time they spent traveling between restaurants to perform work. This exclusion of work time from the payroll created a record keeping violation, and these previously unrecorded hours also resulted in additional overtime found due.  

“The resolution of this case puts these wages into the hands of those who earned them, and demonstrates how Department of Labor enforcement levels the playing field for law-abiding employers,” said Kenneth Stripling, Wage and Hour Division District Director. “We encourage all employers to make use of the many tools our agency offers to help them understand their obligations and to avoid violations.”

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 http://www.dol.gov/whd.

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Editor’s Note: This news release has been updated to show that the back wages have been paid.

JENKINTOWN, PA – Following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has entered a consent judgment ordering Jenkintown-based Metro Kitchen Bar Inc. and its owner to pay $25,902 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 50 employees. Investigators found that Metro Kitchen Bar Inc. – doing business as Drake Tavern – and its owner Zachary Hulayev willfully violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) minimum wage, overtime, and recordkeeping provisions.

In addition to the back wages and damages, the Department also assessed the employer a penalty in the amount of $15,120 for child labor violations, and for the willful nature of the monetary violations.

The defendants failed to pay some employees overtime at one-and-one-half times their regular rates of pay when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. Specifically, the employer failed to pay “back of the house” employees such as cooks, dishwashers, and prep cooks overtime as a result of regular and recurring management overrides of employee time records that reduced their hours to below 40 per week.

Investigators also found violations when the defendants made deductions for the cost of uniforms from the pay of tipped employees, resulting in their pay falling below the minimum wage. Additionally, the investigation found recordkeeping violations because of regularly altered time records and failure to maintain accurate records of hours worked. The defendants also violated federal child labor requirements by permitting two 15-year-old employees to work beyond permitted hours.

“This resolution secures proper compensation for these hard-working employees, and helps ensure that the law will be followed in the future,” said Wage and Hour District Director James Cain, in Philadelphia.

“We will vigorously enforce the law to level the playing field for companies that play by the rules and to safeguard employees’ hard-earned wages,” said Regional Solicitor Oscar L. Hampton III.

View the complaint and consent judgment.

The Wage and Hour Division is committed to providing employers with the tools they need to assist them in fulfilling their obligation to understand and comply with the variety of laws the Division enforces. Materials are available in a variety of languages. The division offers useful resources ranging from an interactive E-laws advisor to a complete library of free, downloadable workplace posters. In addition, the Division’s Community Outreach and Resource Planning Specialists conduct ongoing outreach activities to educate stakeholders, including employers, employees, business and labor groups, and professional associations, among others, with accessible, easy-to-understand information about their rights and responsibilities.

For more information about the FLSA and other federal wage laws, call the Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information also is available at http://www.dol.gov/whd.

Acosta v. Metro Kitchen Bar, Inc. d/b/a Drake tavern and Zachary Hulayev

Civil Action Number: 2:18-cv-00477-MAK

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – After an investigation by the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, Palm Shores Retirement Community Inc. will pay $181,663 in back wages to 454 employees for violating the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Investigators found that the company’s St. Petersburg location failed to pay the required overtime premium to employees who were involved in the evacuation and subsequent care of residents during and immediately after Hurricane Irma. The employer failed to pay these workers for all of their hours when they worked 24-hour shifts without sleep.

Investigators further identified overtime violations that occurred in all 19 of the employer’s Florida locations.  Specifically, the employer failed to include some bonus payments made to marketing and activities employees when calculating overtime pay rates, resulting in rates being lower than what the law requires.  Additionally, the employer’s exclusion of travel time from some workers’ hours created additional overtime violations.

“The Wage and Hour Division is committed to ensuring that employees receive the wages they have earned for all the hours they have worked,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director James Schmidt. “Resolutions like the one in this case demonstrate the Department of Labor’s commitment to workers as well as its determination to leveling the playing field for law-abiding employers.”

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 http://www.dol.gov/whd.