Wally’s American Pub and Grille to pay $141K in overtime back wages and damages to 11 employees in Phoenix, Scottsdale

News Brief

Wally’s American Pub and Grille to pay $141K in overtime back wages and damages to 11 employees in Phoenix, Scottsdale

Employer: Wally’s American Pub and Grille, LLC, operating two restaurants in Arizona

Locations: 5029 North 44 Street, Phoenix
7704 East Double Tree Rach, Scottsdale

Investigation findings: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Wally’s American Pub and Grilled violated the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The employer failed to add together the hours worked by kitchen staff and servers working at both locations within the same week. As a result, employees did not receive overtime pay at time and a half their regular hourly rates for the hours they worked beyond 40 in a workweek. The restaurant also failed to pay workers for time spent traveling between locations.

Resolution: Wally’s will pay $70,772 in overtime back wages and an equal amount in damages to 11 employees. The employer will also pay a $2,805 civil penalty due to the willful nature of the violations.

Quote: “As this case illustrates, we will fight for the hardworking men and women in the restaurant industry, many of whom are deprived of their rights to receive the overtime premium the law requires and that they deserve,” said Eric Murray, director of the Wage and Hour Division in Phoenix. “We will continue to use every enforcement tool at our disposal to protect the rights of these vulnerable workers.”

Background: In fiscal years 2009-2015, the Wage and Hour Division uncovered labor law violations in 82 percent of its more than 19,000 investigations of full-service restaurants nationwide. The division takes a vigorous, strategic approach to enforcement, focusing on those industries, such as restaurants, where the evidence shows violation rates are high, and where we find vulnerable low-wage workers who are often reluctant to assert their rights and raise their voices.

Information: Employees who have filed complaints or provided information cannot be discriminated against or discharged on account of such activity. If adverse action is taken against an employee for engaging in protected activity, the affected employee or the Secretary of Labor may file suit for relief, including reinstatement to his/her job, payment of lost wages, and damages. 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/.

Read this news release en españól.

Agency
Wage and Hour Division
Date
July 7, 2016
Release Number
16-1420-SAN
Media Contact: Leo Kay
Phone Number
Media Contact: Jose Carnevali

US Labor Department sues El Paso fire protection company, seeking $321K in unpaid wages, liquidated damages for workers

News Brief

US Labor Department sues El Paso fire protection company, seeking $321K in unpaid wages, liquidated damages for workers

Employer failed to pay for pre-, post-shift work or compensable travel time, suit alleges

Date of Action: July 7, 2016

Type of Action: Lawsuit

Name of Defendant: Five Star Automatic Fire Protection LLC

Allegation: The U.S. Department of Labor filed a lawsuit against Five Star Automatic Fire Protection LLC after an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that the employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay 54 current and former employees $160,787 in overtime pay. Investigators from the division’s Albuquerque District Office found Five Star failed to pay its employees for time spent before their scheduled starting times as they loaded materials into the company vehicle and performed other tasks to prepare for the day’s work. The company also failed to pay workers for legally compensable travel time when it occurred after their shifts were scheduled to end. Investigators determined the employer failed to keep track of all hours worked and to record its employees’ starting and ending work times each work day, leading to a record-keeping violation in addition to the monetary violations.

Quote: “Employers cannot require employees to work before or after punching their timecards without being paid for that time,” said Betty Campbell, regional administrator for the Wage and Hour Division in the Southwest. “In this case, Five Star Automatic Fire Protection benefitted from the labor performed by these workers outside of their scheduled shifts, but didn’t pay for that work.  The Wage and Hour Division remains committed to ensuring that if you work, you get paid.  We will continue to use every tool available to us to make sure that happens.”

Resolution: The department seeks $321,000 in back wages and liquidated damages, and an injunction against future violations of the FLSA by Five Star.

Background: Based in El Paso, Texas, Five Star Automatic Fire Protection provides fire protection services for new construction projects and existing buildings.

Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, El Paso Division

Docket Number: 3:16-cv-00282

Agency
Wage and Hour Division
Date
July 7, 2016
Release Number
16-1413-DAL
Media Contact: Juan Rodriguez

SoCal electrical contractor pays more than $321K in overtime back wages and damages to 158 workers following labor investigation

News Brief

SoCal electrical contractor pays more than $321K in overtime back wages and damages to 158 workers following labor investigation

Employer: Schamber Electric & Sons Inc., doing business as Schamber Electric Inc.

Location: 1674 Rail Road St., Corona, California

Investigation findings: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Schamber Electric violated the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act when it paid workers straight time for hours worked beyond 40 per week. Specifically, the employer paid some installers on a piece-rate basis without regard to the number of hours they actually worked, resulting in violations when they worked more than 40 hours in a week without overtime.  The employer paid other workers hourly rates, but paid them straight time even when they worked more than 40 hours. The agency also found the employer violated the recordkeeping provisions for failing to accurately record the hours worked by employees each day and each week.

Resolution: Schamber Electric has paid 158 workers $160,906 in overtime back wages plus an additional, equal amount of $160,906 in liquidated damages.   

Quote: “When employers fail to pay hard-working employees the overtime they’ve rightfully earned, it hurts the workers, their families and their communities,” said Daniel Pasquil, district director of the Wage and Hour Division in West Covina. “The resolution of this investigation sends a strong message to other employers who may be paying workers in this manner – shorting your workers does not pay.  People working for other employers who believe they are not receiving proper overtime are encouraged to give us a call.”

Information: The FLSA requires that covered, nonexempt workers be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked, plus overtime at one and one-half times their regular wages for hours worked beyond 40 per week. Employers also must maintain accurate time and payroll records.  Employers are prohibited from retaliating against workers who exercise their rights under the law.

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/.

Read this news release en españól.

Agency
Wage and Hour Division
Date
July 7, 2016
Release Number
16-1017-SAN
Media Contact: Leo Kay
Phone Number
Media Contact: Jose Carnevali

San Fernando Valley recycler to pay more than $45K in back wages, damages to four workers following labor investigation

News Brief

San Fernando Valley recycler to pay more than $45K in back wages, damages to four workers following labor investigation

Employer: Odelsi Recycling, a company that purchases recyclable materials such as aluminum, glass
and plastic bottles from individuals in California’s San Fernando Valley.

Location: 11045 Glenoaks Blvd., Pacoima
13426 Osborne St., Arleta

Investigation findings: Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that Odelsi Recycling violated the minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Specifically, the employer paid employees’ flat salaries regardless of the number of hours they worked, resulting in minimum wage violations when the salary paid divided by the hours worked failed to cover at least $7.25 per hour. Overtime violations occurred when employees worked more than 40 hours in a week and the employer failed to pay them overtime. Recordkeeping violations resulted from the employer’s failure to record all the hours employees worked, as well as failing to record their rates of pay.

Resolution: Odelsi Recycling agreed to comply and to pay $22,617 in minimum wage and overtime back wages and an equal, additional amount in damages to four employees. 

Quote: “We continue to find widespread violations in Southern California’s recycling industry,” said Kimchi Bui, director of the Wage and Hour Division’s Los Angeles District Office. “This industry employs some of the most vulnerable workers we see. Simply paying workers a salary does not mean that they are not entitled to minimum wage and overtime. We will continue investigating and holding employers accountable as long as we continue to find recyclers shortchanging their employees.”

Background:  The department issued a press release in 2015 chronicling the high rates of FLSA violations in Southern California’s recycling industry.

Information: The FLSA requires that covered, nonexempt workers be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked, plus overtime at one and one-half times their regular wages for hours worked beyond 40 per week. Employers also must maintain accurate time and payroll records. Employers are prohibited from retaliating against workers who exercise their rights under the law.

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/.

Read this news release en españól.

Agency
Wage and Hour Division
Date
July 7, 2016
Release Number
16-0763-SAN
Media Contact: Leo Kay
Phone Number
Media Contact: Jose Carnevali

El Azteca restaurant group to pay $700K in back wages, damages to 129 workers at four Wisconsin eateries

News Release

El Azteca restaurant group to pay $700K in back wages, damages to 129 workers at four Wisconsin eateries

Workers in Appleton, De Pere and Neenah often earned less than minimum wage

APPLETON, Wis. – After long hours in hot kitchens rapidly filling customer orders, many employees at El Azteca restaurants in Appleton, De Pere and Neenah received paychecks with wages below the federal minimum wage and often missing pay for overtime, federal investigators found.

Under terms of a consent judgment entered in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, the restaurants and their owners and managers – Marco Montalvo, Fe Montalvo and Sergio Jimenez – will pay 129 current and former employees a total of $700,000, including $350,000 in back wages and additional $350,000 in liquidated damages. The companies and individual defendants will also pay $25,000 in civil money penalties for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act. The judgment resolves a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor in February 2015.

The suit follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found the companies and individual defendants failed to pay kitchen staff and servers at least the federal minimum wage, and overtime for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek at the four Wisconsin eateries.

“We see far too many violations like these in the restaurant industry, where low-wage workers are particularly vulnerable,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. “This consent judgment should serve as a wake-up call to restaurant owners and the industry that the U.S. Department of Labor takes these violations very seriously and will continue to use every tool at our disposal to ensure workers get the money they have earned.”

Investigators found the restaurants failed to comply with the FLSA’s minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions by:

  • Failing to record daily and weekly work hours and earnings accurately, resulting in not only a recordkeeping violation but also in the employer failing to pay employees for all the hours that they worked.  
  • Paying kitchen staff flat salaries without regard to the number of  hours they worked, resulting in violations of the overtime regulations when these employees worked over 40 hours in a workweek and were not paid overtime.
  • Making illegal deductions from servers’ and bussers’ pay for uniform shirts, nametags and aprons, resulting in minimum wage violations.  

“Expecting employees to work long hours in return for wages below the minimum wage is truly unfair and it is illegal,” said David Weil, administrator for the Wage and Hour Division. “The terms of this agreement will help to right a serious wrong and compensate these workers with their rightfully earned wages.”

Under the agreement, the company will pay back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages as follows:

  • El Azteca of Appleton Inc., known as El Azetca-Appleton North, 39 workers will receivea total of $188,761.
  • El Azteca of Neenah Inc., 29 workers will receive a total of $192,699.
  • El Azteca of Kimberly Inc., known as El Azteca-Appleton East, 33 workers will receive a totalof $222,914.
  • El Maya Mexican Restaurant Inc., 28 workers will receive a total of $95,624. The restaurant was formerly known as El Azteca Restaurant of De Pere, Inc.

The court action enjoins the defendants from violating the FLSA in the future and requires significant changes in their business practices. The defendants are required to provide training to managers and employees on the FLSA to ensure compliance at all locations.

The consent judgment also requires the employer to:

  • Provide every current and future employee with the following Wage and Hour Division publications in both Spanish and English:
  • Provide each employee with the Wage and Hour Division’s phone number.
  • Provide each employee on each pay date with a pay stub, showing the specific dates of the pay period, total hours worked and paid, rate of pay, overtime hours paid, overtime rate of pay, gross amounts paid and all deductions taken by defendants. The stub must show all pay and deductions regardless of whether the pay was by check or in cash. 
  • Conduct quarterly reviews of time and payroll records at each location.

Additionally, if owners Marco and Fe Montalvo sell business assets prior to completing payment of the back wages, damages and penalties, the proceeds of the sale must go directly toward the debt owed to the workers.  The consent judgment also states that if the individual defendants sell their primary residence, the Secretary of Labor will place a lien on any new residence purchased.

Under the FLSA, restaurant operators can claim a credit for tips received toward their obligation to pay tipped employees the full minimum wage. An employer that claims this tip credit is required to pay a tipped employee only $2.13 per hour in direct wages. If an employee’s tips, when added to the wages paid directly by the employer, do not equal at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour the employer must make up the difference. Tips are the property of the employees who receive them.

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).

# # #

Perez v. El Azteca Restaurants Inc., El Azteca of Appleton Inc., El Azteca of Neenah Inc.
El Azteca of Kimberly Inc., El Maya Mexican Restaurant Inc. formerly known as El Azteca Restaurant of De Pere, Inc. and individuals, Marco Montalvo, Fe Montalvo and Sergio Jimenez

Filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Green Bay Division

Civil Action Number: 5-cv-221
OALJ Reference: 2015-FLS-0006

Agency
Wage and Hour Division
Date
July 6, 2016
Release Number
16-1339-CHI
Media Contact: Scott Allen
Phone Number
Media Contact: Rhonda Burke
Phone Number

Court orders Yauco coffee grower to pay $101k in back wages to more than 170 underpaid employees after US Labor Department investigation, litigation

News Release

Court orders Yauco coffee grower to pay $101k in back wages to more than 170 underpaid employees after US Labor Department investigation, litigation

Beneficiado De Cafe Las Indieras, Inc., owner, to take additional corrective actions

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico – A consent judgment has been filed in federal district court ordering a Yauco coffee grower to pay $101,484 in back wages to more than 170 year-round farm workers and seasonal coffee pickers who the company underpaid between 2011 and 2014.

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division determined that Beneficiado de Café Las Indieras, doing business as Hacienda Remanso de Paz, and its president, Wilfredo Ruiz Vargas failed to pay the farm workers and coffee harvesters they employed the legally required minimum wage for all the hours they worked. Investigators also found that the defendants failed to create and maintain accurate records of their employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. In September 2013, the department filed suit against the defendants in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.

“Puerto Rico’s agricultural employers should take note of this case and its outcome. Denying low-wage, agricultural workers their legally required minimum wage will not be tolerated,” said Jose R. Vazquez, director of the Wage and Hour Division’s Caribbean District Office. “We have used and will continue to use all the investigation and enforcement tools at our disposal to protect these vulnerable workers and to ensure that they are paid every penny they have legally earned.”

The judgment incorporates a detailed compliance plan submitted by defendants to the department, which outlines corrective actions they will take to ensure they pay workers correctly going forward.

The judgment orders the defendants to:

  • Maintain accurate and complete records as to employees’ work hours and pay rates, and to provide copies to the Wage and Hour Division.
  • Ensure that Ruiz Vargas, the farm workers and seasonal employees participate in Wage and Hour Division training sessions on the FLSA’s minimum wage, overtime, record-keeping and anti-retaliation provisions.
  • Pay employees at least the minimum wage while they attend this training.
  • Provide written notification to the workers of their rights under the FLSA.

The judgment also prohibits Beneficiado de Café Las Indieras and Ruiz Vargas from:

  • Directly or indirectly soliciting, suggesting or coercing employees to return or ‘kick back’ the back wage payments to the defendants.
  • Discharging or retaliating against employees who disclose or threaten to disclose FLSA violations, cooperate in an investigation or refuse to participate in any activity reasonably believed to violate the FLSA.
  • Violating the FLSA in the future.

The judgment also states that if the defendants default on payment of the back wages, the court can appoint a receiver to ensure payment at the defendants’ expense. The receiver will have the authority to collect and liquidate the defendants’ assets to ensure payment. The defendants must cooperate with the receiver.

“The coffee-growing industry in Puerto Rico employs thousands of workers, many of them coffee pickers who are paid traditionally by the piece for the coffee they pick. Paying by the piece is legal, but each employee must earn at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. If a worker doesn’t pick enough to earn that amount from the piece rate, the employer must pay the difference. We remind employers that it is their responsibility to ensure that their employees are properly paid,” said Vazquez.

The FLSA requires that covered, nonexempt employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, as well as time and one-half their regular rates for every hour they work beyond 40 per week. The law also requires employers to maintain accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment, and prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who exercise their rights under the law.

The investigation was conducted by the Mayaguez Field Office, a subset of the division’s Caribbean District Office. The case was litigated by attorneys Summer Silversmith, Allison L. Bowles and Frances Y. Ma for the department’s Regional Office of the Solicitor in New York. 

For more information about the FLSA, contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or its Caribbean District Office at 787-775-1924. Information also is available at http://www.dol.gov/whd.  

# # #

Perez v. Beneficiado De Cafe Las Indieras, Inc. d/b/a Hacienda Remanso De Paz, and Wilfredo Ruiz Vargas.
Civil Action Number: 3:13-cv-01730

Read this news release en españól.

Agency
Wage and Hour Division
Date
July 5, 2016
Release Number
16-1241-NEW
Media Contact: Ted Fitzgerald
Media Contact: James C. Lally
Phone Number

Court rulings provide more than $1M in back wages, damages for more than two dozen Bay Area workers

News Release

Court rulings provide more than $1M in back wages, damages for more than two dozen Bay Area workers

Labor Dept continues to combat widespread wage abuse in local residential care field

SAN FRANCISCO – Two separate court rulings in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California are putting more than $1 million in back wages and damages into the hands of dozens of workers denied minimum wage and overtime by the owners of nearly a dozen Bay Area residential care facilities.

In a consent judgment entered May 17, 2016, by Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu, San Miguel Homes for the Elderly of Union City agreed to pay $425,000 in back wages and damages to 26 caregivers working at its Union City facilities, and admitted to not paying minimum wage and overtime.

The action follows a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation that found egregious minimum wage and overtime violations as the company made caregivers work around the clock without paying them for all of their hours. The department filed suit against San Miguel Homes in December 2015 after the company’s owners refused to meet with division investigators, claiming that they were not obligated to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act. In January, the division learned that the company’s owners were threatening to sue workers suspected of cooperating with the investigation, and having employees falsify timesheets.

The consent judgment also requires the company to provide adequate coverage during all shifts to eliminate employees working off the clock and to ensure the company pays employees properly for all hours worked.

In a second ruling, Judge James Donato approved a consent judgment March 7, 2016, between the department and Razel Cortez and Elizabeth Palad, owners of eight residential care facilities. The facilities are Walnut Creek Willows in Walnut Creek, Elizabeth’s Care Home 1 and 2 in South San Francisco, Samantha’s Care Home in San Bruno, New Haven Care Home in Union City, and Rayzel’s Villa and Villa San Lorenzo in San Lorenzo.

Division investigators found the employer misclassified caregivers as independent contractors, paid them a flat monthly salary well below minimum wage, provided no premium for overtime even though the employees often worked 60 hours per week, and failed to keep any records of the employees’ hours worked. The court’s order requires the homes and their owners to pay unpaid wages and damages totaling $643,992 due to minimum wage and overtime violations of the FLSA.

That consent judgment also requires the defendants to hire a third-party monitor to audit their compliance with the FLSA, to post copies of the consent judgment and notices of employee rights in both English and Tagalog at each of their facilities, to provide detailed pay stubs to every employee each pay period and direct them to review the documents, and to provide contact information for the Wage and Hour Division, in both languages, with every pay stub.

“Dozens of Bay Area residential care workers will finally receive their hard-earned back wages, and damages, thanks to these court rulings,” said Janet Herold from the department’s Solicitor’s Office in San Francisco. 

“Too many hardworking men and women who tend to the most basic needs of our loved ones continue to be shortchanged for their efforts. We aim to put a stop to that through strong enforcement of federal labor laws along with a robust outreach and education program,” said Ruben Rosalez, regional administrator for the Wage and Hour Division’s Western Region.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division continues to find violations in the residential care field, particularly in the Bay Area. In the 2015 fiscal year, its San Francisco District Office concluded more than 100 investigations of residential care facilities and nursing homes, resulting in $3 million in back wages and damages for more than 475 employees.

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/.

Agency
Wage and Hour Division
Date
July 5, 2016
Release Number
16-1129-SAN
Media Contact: Leo Kay
Phone Number
Media Contact: Jose Carnevali

Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez’s statement on Supreme Court denying challenge to minimum wage, overtime protections for home care workers

News Release

Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez’s statement on Supreme Court denying challenge to minimum wage, overtime protections for home care workers

WASHINGTONU.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez today issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision not to hear a challenge to the department’s Home Care Final Rule:

“The U.S. Department of Labor’s Home Care Final Rule is vital to the nearly two million workers who provide home care services to our loved ones who wish to remain in their homes and communities.

“Until this rule, this growing and increasingly important group of workers who provide compassionate and competent care to our aging parents and to family members with disabilities were left out of the American promise of a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work. It undermines America’s basic bargain when an estimated 40 percent of home care workers rely on public assistance to make ends meet. These are dedicated and skilled workers, and they deserve to be paid as such.

“In 2011, in keeping with our statutory authority, we began a process to update the rules and provide home care workers with the same minimum wage and overtime protections enjoyed by most workers in the country, including those who perform the same duties in nursing homes. We did so in a transparent manner, consistent with the requirements of the federal rulemaking process, accepting and carefully considering public comments. The Home Care Final Rule is legally sound, and it was the right thing to do.

“Today’s decision by the court not to review a challenge to the Final Rule ensures that the rule can fulfill President Obama’s vision of an economy where hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded. That will mean greater economic stability for so many hard-working people. For everything they do for our families, they deserve – and now they will get – a fair shot at being able to take care of their own. The final rule will also mean a more stable and professional home care workforce, benefitting consumers of these services and better meeting the needs of an aging population.

“We have worked closely with a wide range of stakeholders, including state officials, providers of home care services, advocates representing people with disabilities and worker advocates, to encourage thoughtful implementation of the rule. We have two goals: extending basic labor protections to home care workers; and ensuring that Medicaid participants and their families enjoy continued access to the home and community-based services they need, particularly services delivered through innovative models of care. 

“We continue to stand ready to provide all stakeholders with the technical assistance necessary to help them comply with the rule.”

Date
June 27, 2016
Release Number
16-0668-NAT
Media Contact: Jason Surbey
Phone Number

Indiana watermelon packer/shipper pays more than $58K in back wages, damages to 14 workers after failing to pay overtime

News Brief

Indiana watermelon packer/shipper pays more than $58K in back wages, damages to 14 workers after failing to pay overtime

Indian Hills Produce also pays more than $15,000 in penalties for willful violations

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act Consent Judgment

Defendant(s): Indian Hills Produce Inc. and John Toth

Allegations: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that Indian Hills Produce and owner John Toth violated the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay 14 workers overtime for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. The defendants paid workers at a Vincennes, Indiana, facility on a piece-rate basis, without regard to how many hours they worked, to pack watermelons from growers around Indiana and elsewhere.

Resolution: Under the terms of a consent judgment entered in federal court, the company has paid 14 workers a total of $58,226 which includes $29,113 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. Indian Hills Produce has also paid $15,400 in civil money penalties for willful violations of the FLSA.

Quote: “Paying employees on a piece-rate basis does not absolve an employer of its responsibility to pay overtime,” said Patricia Lewis, district director for the Wage and Hour Division in Indianapolis. “Indian Hills Produce attempted to conceal its overtime violations. The company knows the rules and is now on notice that the division will not tolerate Indian Hill’s continued disregard of federal wage laws at any of its locations. The resolution of this case should send a strong message to other employers who attempt to deny workers their rightful wages that the division will use every enforcement tool available to end the exploitation and unfair treatment of vulnerable agricultural workers. A fair day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay.”

Background: Based in Groveland, Florida, Indian Hills Produce violated the FLSA for not paying overtime to workers at the same Indiana facility, the division found in 2013.

Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana

Docket Number: 15-cv-221

Agency
Wage and Hour Division
Date
June 23, 2016
Release Number
16-0826-CHI
Media Contact: Scott Allen
Phone Number
Media Contact: Rhonda Burke
Phone Number

Silicon Valley residential care facilities violated overtime, minimum wage laws; 32 workers to receive $718K in back wages, damages

News Brief

Silicon Valley residential care facilities violated overtime, minimum wage laws; 32 workers to receive $718K in back wages, damages

Employers: Lorraine Cerezo Lim doing business as LQC Care Home and Richlee Care Home
Luzviminda Cerezo doing business as White Oaks Manor, Cerezo Residential Care Home and Ross Senior Care Home

Sites: 427 Richlee Drive, Campbell, California
2064 Cherry Ave., San Jose, California
2991 Faircliff Court, San Jose, California
1573 Willow Oaks Drive, San Jose, California
2858 Ross Ave., San Jose, California
1680 White Oaks Ave., Campbell, California
2934 Jessie Court, San Jose, California

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found the owners of the two residential care enterprises in violation of the minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Specifically, the employers paid most workers a flat rate per day, ranging from $75 to $103, for working at least 12 hours per day, 5 to 6 days a week. As a result, the employer violated minimum wage laws when the day rates failed to cover at least $7.25 per hour for all the hours employees worked. The employer also failed to pay workers time and one-half their regular rates when they worked more than 40 hours in a week, as overtime laws require, and failed to record the hours actually worked by employees in violation of the FLSA’s provisions. 

Resolution: The employers will pay 32 workers more than $359,000 in back wages and an equal, additional amount in liquidated damages.

Quote: “Workers in the residential care industry, who work long hours taking care of our loved ones, often struggle to take care of their own families. When they are denied hard and rightfully earned wages, it's unacceptable,” said Susana Blanco, director of the Wage and Hour Division’s San Francisco District Office. “The violations found here are all too common. The resolution of this case sends a strong message that we are committed to making sure that these workers take home every penny they have rightfully earned.”

Background: The department’s Wage and Hour Division continues to find violations in the residential care field, particularly in the Bay Area. In the 2015 fiscal year, the division’s San Francisco District Office concluded more than 100 investigations of residential care facilities and nursing homes, resulting in $3 million in back wages and damages for more than 475 employees.

Information: 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/.

Agency
Wage and Hour Division
Date
June 23, 2016
Release Number
16-1273-SAN
Media Contact: Leo Kay
Phone Number
Media Contact: Jose Carnevali
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