HOUSTON – On a motel housekeeper’s wages, Iris Castro lives on a budget that barely makes ends meet. When her aging parents’ ill health demanded medications, she couldn’t afford to send money home to her native Honduras. Unable to return home, she is left to mourn their deaths in the past two years and saddened by her inability to help pay for their care.

Castro is one of the hundreds of low-wage workers in Southeast Texas’ hotel industry whose hard work doesn’t always equal fair pay. She is also one of 125 workers who will benefit after investigations by the U.S. Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division’s Clear Lake District Office. The division found Castro’s employer – Baymont Inn of Galveston – failed to pay her overtime and, as a result, owes her $13,000 in back wages and liquidated damages – more than half her yearly income of roughly $20,000.

Sadly, she is not alone. Similar stories are often heard in hotel break rooms in the Houston area which, since 2014, has welcomed nearly 15 million tourists. In February 2017, the city will host Super Bowl LI.

In Fiscal Year 2016, division investigations of area employers in the hotel industry found employees working off the clock, being paid straight time for overtime hours and not getting paid for mandatory training time. Investigators also found employers violating child labor regulations that restrict the hours minors may work.  In all, 41 investigations will recover back wages and assess liquidated damages totaling $285,000 for more than 125 workers. Like Castro, the amounts some of them receive will represent more than half a year’s wages.

“The violations we have found are all too common in this industry.  For many workers, the funds we recovered for them are very significant sums,” said Betty Campbell, regional administrator for the Wage and Hour Division in the Southwest. “The findings in these cases tell us we still have work to do. Our ongoing enforcement initiative will continue to use every enforcement tool we have available, such as administrative subpoenas, liquidated damages, and civil money penalties to create incentives for employers to comply with federal wage and hour laws, and to ensure that these workers take home every penny they have rightfully earned.”

The recent investigations also found employers that failed to pay overtime to employees working at multiple locations or when working dual jobs for the same employer, paying for each separately, at straight time. They also found employers that “banked” employees’ overtime hours, to be paid out in future workweeks at straight time. Others violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to maintain time and payroll records, or display posters to inform workers about their workplace rights.

Castro’s employer, Baymont Inn was just one of the many recognizable hospitality brands that drew the attention of federal investigators. In Galveston, they found violations at Baymont Inn, Super 8 and Travelodge Hotel locations.

At the Baymont Inn and Super 8 hotels, 10 housekeepers and maintenance workers received approximately $103,000 in back wages and liquidated damages.

At a Galveston Travelodge Hotel, 11 housekeepers, front desk and maintenance workers received nearly $20,000 in back wages and liquidated damages.

The Wage and Hour Division uses data and evidence to focus its resources strategically on where violations rates are high but the likelihood of workers speaking up is low, and employs a combination of enforcement and education to boost compliance. In Houston, the division continues to engage key employer associations and employee advocates to educate the hotel industry about the systemic violations typically found, and to provide employers with FLSA compliance assistance information to improve compliance in the future.

In 2017, the division will expand outreach, education, and enforcement in the industry to more cities and states in the Southwest and beyond to continue to combat these widespread violations.

The FLSA requires that covered, nonexempt employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates, including commissions, bonuses and incentive pay, for hours worked beyond 40 per week. Employers also are required to maintain accurate time and payroll records.

For more information about federal wage laws, call the Wage and Hour Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or its Clear Lake District Office at 281-488-0690. Information also is available at http://www.dol.gov/whd/.

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TROY, Mich. – A Michigan-based auto components manufacturer and supplier will pay 526 workers $75,064 – representing $37,532 in unpaid overtime wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages – after federal investigators determined the company calculated their overtime pay incorrectly.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Inteva Products LLC violated Fair Labor Standards Act provisions when it failed to include workers’ shift differentials when calculating overtime rates for hourly employees at one facility in Michigan and two in Alabama. The employer based overtime payment on the employees’ base hourly rates, rather than paying time and one-half of their total earnings per hour, as the law requires.

“The U.S. Department of Labor takes very seriously its responsibility to ensure workers receive the wages they have rightfully earned. This agreement recovers money owed to hardworking people and their families,” said Timolin Mitchell, the division’s district director in Detroit. “We encourage employees who believe they are not being paid properly, or employers with questions about how to comply with the law to reach out to the Wage and Hour Division for compliance assistance.”

Investigators found violations at the following locations:

• Adrian, Michigan: back wages of $21,451 due to 243 employees.
• Cottondale, Alabama: back wages of $2,656 due to 64 employees.
• Gadsden, Alabama: back wages of $13,424 due to 219 employees.

In addition to paying the back wages owed, the company will pay an equal, additional amount to each employee in liquidated damages. The employer has also redesigned the payroll system at its facilities to ensure overtime is properly calculated in the future, and includes shift differentials.

Based in Troy, Michigan, Inteva Products is a global company employing more than 15,000 people in 50 locations on five continents.

The FLSA requires that covered, nonexempt employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular hourly rates for hours worked beyond 40 per week. The FLSA provides that employers who violate the law are, as a general rule, liable to employees for their back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. Liquidated damages are paid directly to the affected employees. Additionally, the law requires employers to maintain accurate time and payroll records and prohibits retaliation against employees who exercise their rights under the law.

For more information about the FLSA, visit https://www.dol.gov/whd or call the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has recovered $123,574 in back wages and damages for 22 underpaid workers at four Mozzarella’s and Fitzy’s Pub Family restaurants in southern New England. The employers also paid $4,114 in civil monetary penalties.

The investigation – conducted by the division’s Hartford district and Providence area offices – led the division to obtain subpoenaed records from a third-party payroll service provider and revealed overtime and record-keeping violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act .

Specifically, the employers:

• Failed to pay overtime when employees worked more than 40 hours per week.
• Failed to maintain accurate payroll records.
• Failed to pay some tipped employees at least the federal minimum wage.
• Required one tipped employee to purchase uniform aprons, resulting in a minimum wage violation.
• Deducted withholdings in excess of the amount allowed by law for child support payments.

“The violations found in this case are all too common in the restaurant industry. Employers who short their employees not only hurt workers and their families, but also gain an unfair advantage over law-abiding competitors,” said Donald Epifano, assistant district director of the Wage and Hour Division’s Providence area office. “As part of the resolution of this case, the restaurants have entered into an agreement which commits them not only to obey the law, but to take additional actions to ensure they pay employees properly now and in the future.”

That agreement commits the restaurants to:

• Conduct annual training for management on FLSA compliance requirements.
• Conduct biannual meetings to educate employees about their rights under the FLSA.
• Amend their employee handbook to include a section on employee rights under the FLSA, as well as prohibited practices such as improper wage deductions. The handbook will also define tipped and non-tipped occupations.
• Engage an independent consultant with specific knowledge and experience regarding the requirements of the FLSA. The consultant will create a system to ensure that the restaurants’ pay and recordkeeping practices are in compliance with the FLSA.
• Have a quarterly audit of all four restaurants performed by the consultant to determine compliance. If violations are found, the consultant will take any corrective action necessary, compute any back wages due, ensure that the employer issues back wage checks to the affected employees, and create and maintain a report of the violations and any applicable corrective action taken. The report must be provided to the Wage and Hour Division upon request.

As a result of the investigation, the restaurants paid back wages, damages and civil money penalties as follows:

• Mozzarella’s Grill & Bar in Dayville, Connecticut, paid three employees $25,255 in back wages and an equal, additional amount in liquidated damages. The restaurant also paid $561 in civil monetary penalties.
• Fitzy’s Pub Family Restaurant in Plainville, Massachusetts, paid five employees $20,639 in back wages and an equal, additional amount in liquidated damages. The restaurant also paid $935 in civil monetary penalties.
• Fitzy’s Pub Family Restaurant in North Providence paid four employees $5,283 in back wages. The restaurant also paid $748 in civil monetary penalties.
• Fitzy’s Pub Family Restaurant in East Greenwich paid five employees $10,610 in back wages and an equal, additional amount in liquidated damages, and also paid $1,870 in civil monetary penalties.

For more information about the FLSA, contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or its Providence area office at 401-528-4431. Information also is available at http://www.dol.gov/whd.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has recovered $123,574 in back wages and damages for 22 underpaid workers at four Mozzarella’s and Fitzy’s Pub Family restaurants in southern New England. The employers also paid $4,114 in civil monetary penalties.

The investigation – conducted by the division’s Hartford district and Providence area offices – led the division to obtain subpoenaed records from a third-party payroll service provider and revealed overtime and record-keeping violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Specifically, the employers:

• Failed to pay overtime when employees worked more than 40 hours per week.
• Failed to maintain accurate payroll records.
• Failed to pay some tipped employees at least the federal minimum wage.
• Required one tipped employee to purchase uniform aprons, resulting in a minimum wage violation.
• Deducted withholdings in excess of the amount allowed by law for child support payments.

“The violations found in this case are all too common in the restaurant industry. Employers who short their employees not only hurt workers and their families, but also gain an unfair advantage over law-abiding competitors,” said Donald Epifano, assistant district director of the Wage and Hour Division’s Providence area office. “As part of the resolution of this case, the restaurants have entered into an agreement which commits them not only to obey the law, but to take additional actions to ensure they pay employees properly now and in the future.”

That agreement commits the restaurants to:

• Conduct annual training for management on FLSA compliance requirements.
• Conduct biannual meetings to educate employees about their rights under the FLSA.
• Amend their employee handbook to include a section on employee rights under the FLSA, as well as prohibited practices such as improper wage deductions. The handbook will also define tipped and non-tipped occupations.
• Engage an independent consultant with specific knowledge and experience regarding the requirements of the FLSA. The consultant will create a system to ensure that the restaurants’ pay and recordkeeping practices are in compliance with the FLSA.
• Have a quarterly audit of all four restaurants performed by the consultant to determine compliance. If violations are found, the consultant will take any corrective action necessary, compute any back wages due, ensure that the employer issues back wage checks to the affected employees, and create and maintain a report of the violations and any applicable corrective action taken. The report must be provided to the Wage and Hour Division upon request.

As a result of the investigation, the restaurants paid back wages, damages and civil money penalties as follows:

• Mozzarella’s Grill & Bar in Dayville, Connecticut, paid three employees $25,255 in back wages and an equal, additional amount in liquidated damages. The restaurant also paid $561 in civil monetary penalties.
• Fitzy’s Pub Family Restaurant in Plainville, Massachusetts, paid five employees $20,639 in back wages and an equal, additional amount in liquidated damages. The restaurant also paid $935 in civil monetary penalties.
• Fitzy’s Pub Family Restaurant in North Providence paid four employees $5,283 in back wages. The restaurant also paid $748 in civil monetary penalties.
• Fitzy’s Pub Family Restaurant in East Greenwich paid five employees $10,610 in back wages and an equal, additional amount in liquidated damages, and also paid $1,870 in civil monetary penalties.

For more information about the FLSA, contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or its Providence Area Office at 401-528-4431. Information also is available at http://www.dol.gov/whd.

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The owner of three Buffalo-area gas stations has paid a total of $84,000 in back wages and damages to 41 employees after an investigation by the Buffalo area office of U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

Lakhwinder Gill – the owner of the Angola Food Mart Inc. (Angola), LHP Food Mart Inc. (Buffalo) and Lake Shore Mini Mart, Inc. (Hamburg) gas stations – will also pay $1,000 in civil monetary penalties.

Investigators found that Gill violated the minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Specifically, Gill:

• Failed to pay some employees overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a work week, including one who regularly worked more than 70 hours a week.
• Failed to pay some employees for all the hours that they worked, including time spent in training and in performing work before and after their scheduled shifts. Required employees to pay for cash register shortages and damaged or missing merchandise, such as stolen gas, errors in printing lottery tickets, and missing merchandise. Making deductions from wages for these items resulted in minimum wage and overtime violations.
• Failed to combine the hours worked by one employee at two locations of the business when determining when overtime was due.
• Falsified time records to create the appearance that employees did not work overtime even though some employees regularly worked more than 40 hours per week.

See complaint here.

“Too often we see employers paying straight time for overtime in cash off the books in this industry,” said Michael Fitzgerald, assistant district director of the Wage and Hour Division’s Buffalo Area Office. “This investigation and its outcome should send a clear message: We will continue to use every enforcement tool available to hold employers accountable, to level the playing field for those who play by the rules, and to ensure that workers are paid what they have rightfully earned.”

The consent judgment includes the following gas stations:

• Angola Food Mart Inc., doing business as Mobil, at 8445 Southwestern Boulevard, will pay 32 employees $26,671 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages.
• LHP Food Mart Inc., doing business as Valero, at 3932 South Park Ave., will pay eight employees $15,247 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages.
• Lake Shore Mini Mart, Inc., doing business as Mobil, at 4878 Lakeshore Road, will pay one employee $81.00 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages.

The Judgment also requires the employer to verbally inform all of their employees in English, and in any other language spoken by the workers, of their rights under the FLSA, the terms of the judgment, and their rights to cooperate with an investigation without fear of retaliation. 

Senior Trial Attorney Kathryn L. Stewart provided legal services in support of this enforcement action for the Department of Labor’s New York Regional Office of the Solicitor. The case was filed with U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York.

For more information about federal wage laws administered by the Wage and Hour Division, or to file a complaint, call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). All services are free and confidential. Information also is available at http://www.dol.gov/whd.

Employer: Six gas stations/convenience stores, all under common ownership, doing business as Arco AM/PM in the Sacramento, California area.

Sites: Lodi Oil Inc., 4931 N. Flag City Blvd, Lodi
Kamboj Oil Inc., 45 15^th St., West Sacramento
Wraich Petroleum Corp., 3921 Watt Avenue, Sacramento
Broadway Petroleum Inc., 2100 Broadway, Sacramento
Mehroke LLC, 902 Newville Road, Orlanda
Sacramento Petroleum Inc., 4745 Watt Avenue North Highlands

Investigation findings: Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found the employer violated the overtime pay requirement of the Fair Labor Standards Act by paying workers straight time rates for overtime hours. The Arco AM/PM franchisee provided investigators with falsified payroll records to create the appearance of compliance. In addition to paying straight time for overtime hours, the employer also failed to pay workers for travel time between locations when they worked at multiple sites, resulting in unpaid hours and further overtime violations.

Resolution: The employer will pay $66,075 in overtime back wages found due plus an equal, additional amount in damages, totaling $132,150 to 47 employees.

Quote: “While gas station attendants are among our nation’s lowest-paid workers, it does not mean they do not have a voice,” said Cesar Avila, assistant district director of the department’s Wage and Hour Division in Sacramento. “Our investigation shows we remain committed to ensuring that workers receive a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work, and that employers who obey the law do not find themselves at an economic disadvantage to those who do not.”

Information: The FLSA requires that covered, nonexempt employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates, including commissions, bonuses and incentive pay, for hours worked beyond 40 per week. The act also provides that employers who violate the law are liable to employees for back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages.

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

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit filing

Defendant(s): Rinky Sharma
Bobby Singh
SkyExpress Travel Plaza Inc., doing business as Plaza 30
Sky Petroleum Inc., doing business as Govertown Travel Plaza and Michigan City Grocery
Aman Group LLC, dba Marathon Stop and Shop

Complaint: The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit in federal court to recover an estimated $23,702 – representing $11,851 in unpaid overtime wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages for at least 13 current and former employees of four travel plazas and gas stations in Northern Indiana. The suit also names Rinky Sharma and Bobby Singh, the co-owners of the various companies operating the travel plazas and gas stations.

An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division found the defendants violated the FLSA by:

• Failing to pay overtime at time and one half for all hours employees worked beyond 40 in a workweek. Investigators determined the employer paid one worker a set salary per week, regardless of the numbers of hours worked. The employee did not meet the criteria to be considered exempt from overtime requirements.
• Paying servers overtime at one and one-half times their direct cash wages of $2.13 per hour rather than the legally-required rate of one and one-half times the full minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
• Failing to combine the hours of employees who worked as both a server and cashier in the same workweek when determining if overtime was due, instead paying for each task separately, at straight time.  
• Failing to maintain accurate payroll records including hours worked and rates of pay.

Quote: “These clerks, servers and cashiers worked long, hard hours, and deserve to be paid every penny they have rightfully earned,” said Patricia Lewis, district director for the Wage and Hour Division in Indianapolis. “This lawsuit demonstrates the division’s commitment to using every enforcement tool available to us, including litigation, to hold employers accountable, and to ensure that workers’ wages are protected.  We encourage anyone being paid less than they have earned to notify the Wage and Hour Division.”

Information: The FLSA requires that employers pay covered, nonexempt employees at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular hourly rates for hours worked beyond 40 per week. As a general rule, the FLSA provides that employers who violate the law are liable to employees for their back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. Liquidated damages are paid directly to the affected employees. Additionally, the law requires employers to maintain accurate time and payroll records and prohibits retaliation against employees who exercise their rights under the law.

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

Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division 3:16-cv-00834

SALT LAKE CITY – A federal judge has ordered Brian Jessop and Paragon Contractors Corp., to make an initial payment of $200,000 to compensate hundreds of children who were employed illegally and not paid for their labor on a pecan ranch between 2008-2013. Jessop and Paragon coordinated with the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints to use children and others in the church for field work.

A multi-year investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division revealed that the employers used underage workers illegally to harvest pecans by hand in southern Utah.

On Dec. 6, 2016, U.S. District Court Judge Tena Campbell ordered the $200,000 payment to a fund to pay back wages and that a special master be appointed to conduct unannounced work site investigations over a five-year period to ensure that the court’s order is followed. The court also requires that Jessop and Paragon notify the special master and the Wage and Hour Division before beginning work at any location, provide records on employees and allow investigators unfettered access to job sites. In June, the court found the employers in contempt of a 2007 order forbidding the employer’s illegal use of child labor.

“We are committed to utilizing every tool at our disposal to stop oppressive child labor, secure payment of workers’ lawful wages and compel employers to obey the law,” said Wage and Hour Division Administrator Dr. David Weil. “The employers in this case have long demonstrated a willful disregard for the welfare of minors, refusing to compensate them and adult workers who have toiled in their fields. We will uphold the prohibition against the illegal use of child labor. We will also ensure that the promise of a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work extends to workers in every sector, be it in construction or in the pecan fields.”

In its investigation, the division found leaders of the FLDS-directed schools in Hildale and nearby Colorado City, Arizona, be closed to allow children and adult laborers to harvest pecans. During the 2012-2013 harvest, investigators found church leaders put hundreds of children under the age of 13 to work in the pecan fields. Witnesses testified that up to 4,000 children and adults in the church worked for no compensation.

In September 2015, the department initiated a contempt of court action against Jessop and Paragon for violating the 2007 court order. In a separate suit, the department continues to seek back wages, damages and injunctive relief against additional defendants, including the FLDS church, Lyle Jeffs and Dale Barlow.

A separate administrative action seeking $1.9 million in civil penalties from Jessop, Paragon and Barlow remains unresolved. The penalties are associated with the child labor violations from the 2012-2013 pecan harvest. Penalty assessments against the FLDS church and Jeffs for the same violations have already become final orders of the department, as those parties did not contest the penalties when they were assessed against them.

“For years, we have successfully litigated numerous enforcement actions to investigate and put an end to the illegal use of child labor by Paragon and the FLDS church, and to ensure that all workers are compensated in accordance with the law,” said Associate Regional Solicitor John Rainwater in the department’s Office of the Solicitor in Denver. “The employers have refused repeatedly to cooperate and provide information in an effort to delay and thwart our efforts. This most recent court decision is but one more victory in our determined effort to uphold the rule of law and vital worker protections, particularly when the workers are children, who are among the most vulnerable.”

Workers or the parents of minor children employed in the pecan harvesting operations between 2008-2013 are eligible to submit a claim for back wage payments and are encouraged to contact the Wage and Hour Division office in Salt Lake City at (801) 524-5706 or (866) 487-9243 to make a claim.

Workers and employers can get more information about federal wage laws administered by the division by calling the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Workers can also file complaints confidentially. More information is also available online at http://www.dol.gov/whd/.

SALT LAKE CITY – A federal judge has ordered Brian Jessop and Paragon Contractors Corp., to make an initial payment of $200,000 to compensate hundreds of children who were employed illegally and not paid for their labor on a pecan ranch between 2008-2013. Jessop and Paragon coordinated with the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints to use children and others in the church for field work.

A multi-year investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division revealed that the employers used underage workers illegally to harvest pecans by hand in southern Utah.

On Dec. 6, 2016, U.S. District Court Judge Tena Campbell ordered the $200,000 payment to a fund to pay back wages and that a special master be appointed to conduct unannounced work site investigations over a five-year period to ensure that the court’s order is followed. The court also requires that Jessop and Paragon notify the special master and the Wage and Hour Division before beginning work at any location, provide records on employees and allow investigators unfettered access to job sites. In June, the court found the employers in contempt of a 2007 order forbidding the employer’s illegal use of child labor.

“We are committed to utilizing every tool at our disposal to stop oppressive child labor, secure payment of workers’ lawful wages and compel employers to obey the law,” said Wage and Hour Division Administrator Dr. David Weil. “The employers in this case have long demonstrated a willful disregard for the welfare of minors, refusing to compensate them and adult workers who have toiled in their fields. We will uphold the prohibition against the illegal use of child labor. We will also ensure that the promise of a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work extends to workers in every sector, be it in construction or in the pecan fields.”

In its investigation, the division found leaders of the FLDS-directed schools in Hildale and nearby Colorado City, Arizona, be closed to allow children and adult laborers to harvest pecans. During the 2012-2013 harvest, investigators found church leaders put hundreds of children under the age of 13 to work in the pecan fields. Witnesses testified that up to 4,000 children and adults in the church worked for no compensation.

In September 2015, the department initiated a contempt of court action against Jessop and Paragon for violating the 2007 court order. In a separate suit, the department continues to seek back wages, damages and injunctive relief against additional defendants, including the FLDS church, Lyle Jeffs and Dale Barlow.

A separate administrative action seeking $1.9 million in civil penalties from Jessop, Paragon and Barlow remains unresolved. The penalties are associated with the child labor violations from the 2012-2013 pecan harvest. Penalty assessments against the FLDS church and Jeffs for the same violations have already become final orders of the department, as those parties did not contest the penalties when they were assessed against them.

“For years, we have successfully litigated numerous enforcement actions to investigate and put an end to the illegal use of child labor by Paragon and the FLDS church, and to ensure that all workers are compensated in accordance with the law,” said Associate Regional Solicitor John Rainwater in the department’s Office of the Solicitor in Denver. “The employers have refused repeatedly to cooperate and provide information in an effort to delay and thwart our efforts. This most recent court decision is but one more victory in our determined effort to uphold the rule of law and vital worker protections, particularly when the workers are children, who are among the most vulnerable.”

Workers or the parents of minor children employed in the pecan harvesting operations between 2008-2013 are eligible to submit a claim for back wage payments and are encouraged to contact the Wage and Hour Division office in Salt Lake City at (801) 524-5706 or (866) 487-9243 to make a claim.

Workers and employers can get more information about federal wage laws administered by the division by calling the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Workers can also file complaints confidentially. More information is also available online at http://www.dol.gov/whd/.

NEW YORK – A Garden City restaurant and catering hall will pay a total of $285,800 in back wages and liquidated damages to 24 underpaid employees to resolve violations of the minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The company will also pay $24,200 in civil money penalties to the U.S. Department of Labor and take corrective action to prevent future violations as part of a consent judgment filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Knishka Restaurant Associates Inc., doing business as Akbar Restaurant & Caterer willfully failed to pay employees properly and maintain accurate records of wages and work hours between July 2012 and March 2016. Specific violations included:

• Paying kitchen workers, dishwashers, and banquet workers who sometimes worked as many as 60 hours per week a fixed weekly amount regardless of the numbers of hours they actually worked,denying them overtime when they worked more than 40 hours.
• Paying servers who sometimes worked as many as 70 hours per week less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour by failing to comply with the FLSA’s tip credit requirements.
• Keeping multiple, incomplete, and inaccurate payroll records and providing investigators with falsified records.
• Retaliating against an employee who refused to sign a false affidavit about defendants’ pay practices.

After withholding an employee’s paycheck because he refused to sign a false affidavit, the department obtained a temporary restraining order in July 2016, which enjoined the defendants from interrogating current and former employees about their communications with the government, and withholding wages from or terminating or threatening employees they believed cooperated with the division’s investigation. The court also ordered that the defendants permit department representatives to read a statement to the restaurant’s employees about their right to participate in the investigation.

“These employees work long hours at demanding jobs and deserve to be paid the wages they have rightfully earned. They also have the right to be free of intimidation by their employer,” said Irv Miljoner, director of the division’s Long Island District Office. “Employees have a legal right to participate in and cooperate with an investigation without fear of retaliation.”

“The Long Island restaurant industry should take note of the resolution of this case and the strong remedies obtained. Cheating workers of their wages not only harms them, it also puts at a competitive disadvantage those employers who obey the law in the first place. Intimidating or retaliating against employees is not only unacceptable behavior, it is illegal behavior. The department will not hesitate to pursue and secure appropriate and effective corrective action,” said Jeffrey S. Rogoff, the regional solicitor of labor in New York.

In addition to the payment of the back wages and liquidated damage, the consent judgment requires the defendants to use an automated timekeeping system for all of their employees, and post and provide employees with notices informing them of the resolution of the lawsuit and their FLSA rights in English, Spanish and Hindi.

Should the defendants fail to make payments in a timely manner, the court can appoint at the defendants’ expense a receiver with the authority to collect and liquidate the defendants’ assets and take other steps to carry out the terms of the judgment.

The division’s Long Island District Office conducted the investigation, and attorneys Lindsay Rothfeder and Amy Tai from the department’s Office of the Regional Solicitor in New York litigated the case for the division.

For additional information about these and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, call its toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at http://www.dol.gov/whd/.

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Perez v. Knishka Restaurant Associates Inc. d.b.a. Akbar Restaurant & Caterer, and Meena Chopra
Civil Action Number: 2:15-cv-04494-LDH-ARL

Read this news release in Spanish.

Read this news release in Hindi.