NASHVILLE, TN – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $30,442 in back wages for a former university auditor whose employer violated their rights to protected leave.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found the University of Tennessee forced an auditor to resign after they requested to use protected leave for a qualifying health condition under the Family and Medical Leave Act. While the employee was on approved intermittent leave, the university told the employee they needed to resign or they would be fired. 

The investigators also determined the employer failed to supply its employees with a complete policy that provided information about employee rights and responsibilities under the FMLA.

“Federal law allows for critical workplace rights precisely when workers need them the most. Qualifying leave is established by law, and employers cannot simply deprive eligible workers of their legal right to family and medical leave and force them to make the hard choice between keeping their jobs and caring for themselves or their families,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Lisa Kelly in Nashville, Tennessee. 

In addition to providing leave in certain circumstances, employers are required to inform employees that they may be eligible for FMLA leave within five business days of learning their requests could qualify. Employers must also:

• Reinstate workers to the same or equivalent positions after taking FMLA leave.
• Record, maintain, and calculate the amount of FMLA leave taken.
• Provide notice of FMLA rights and responsibilities, as required by law.
• Designate leave as FMLA-qualifying when appropriate.

Workers and employers can call the Wage and Hour Division with questions and requests for compliance assistance at its toll-free helpline, 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers are encouraged to use the agency’s industry-specific compliance assistance toolkits to learn about their responsibilities under the laws enforced by the division. The agency’s PAID program offers employers an opportunity to self-report and resolve potential minimum wage and overtime violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as certain potential violations under the FMLA.

Workers and employers alike can help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s free Android and iOS Timesheet App.  

EUGENE, OR – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation found an Oregon-based Korean barbeque chain restaurant violated federal law when it allowed a teen employee to work more than permissible hours, denied workers overtime pay, and improperly kept employees’ tips.

Investigators from the department's Wage and Hour Division discovered that the owners of Kkoki Korean BBQ allowed a 15-year-old employee to regularly work more than three hours on school days, past 9 p.m. between June 1 and Labor Day, and more than 40 hours in a workweek, all violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

Additionally, the employer failed to provide overtime pay for employees’ hours worked over 40 in a workweek and permitted a restaurant manager to unlawfully participate in the employee tip pool and retain tips that belonged exclusively to the tipped employees. 

The investigation resulted in the recovery of $58,569 in back wages for 32 workers, along with $38,416 in civil money penalties for repeated and willful violations, as well as child labor violations.

Workers and employers can call the Wage and Hour Division with questions and requests for compliance assistance at its toll-free helpline, 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers are encouraged to use the agency’s industry-specific compliance assistance toolkits to learn about their responsibilities under the laws enforced by the division. The agency’s PAID program offers employers an opportunity to self-report and resolve potential minimum wage and overtime violations under the FLSA, as well as certain potential violations under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool that workers can use if they think they may be owed back wages collected by the division. Download the agency’s free timesheet app for iOS and Android devices to track hours and pay.

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NEWPORT BEACH, CA – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment to recover $468,505 in back wages and damages for 137 construction workers denied minimum wage and overtime pay by a Newport Beach construction company, in violation of federal law. 

On Dec. 17, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California approved the judgment against SCA General Contracting and operators Sundeep Pandhoh and Gary Tetone. The court action follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found the employers’ pay practices violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

From Nov. 1, 2024, through Nov. 30, 2025, the division determined that the employers repeatedly missed payroll, failed to pay workers minimum wage, did not pay overtime for hours worked over 40 in a workweek, and retaliated against employees who complained about their missing pay. 

“Employers will be held accountable by the Wage and Hour Division if they commit wage violations or retaliate against workers who exercise their rights,” said Acting Western Regional Administrator Cesar Avila. “We encourage workers who experience retaliation to contact us for help. We are also available to provide assistance to employers who have questions about minimum wage and overtime compliance.”

The department obtained a court order requiring SCA to pay the workers for the missed payroll and to reinstate an employee who was terminated for complaining about pay. 

“Employees count on being paid accurately and timely, and the law protects them when they complain to their employer when they're not. As we did against SCA General Contracting and Sundeep Pandhoh, the Solicitor's Office will take swift legal action against any employer that fails to pay employees their timely paychecks or retaliates against them for asking to be paid,” said Regional Solicitor Marc Pilotin in San Francisco. 

The FLSA requires that most employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay at not less than time and one-half their regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

Workers and employers can call the Wage and Hour Division with questions and requests for compliance assistance at its toll-free helpline, 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers are encouraged to use the agency’s industry-specific compliance assistance toolkits to learn about their responsibilities under the laws enforced by the division. The agency’s PAID program offers employers an opportunity to self-report and resolve potential minimum wage and overtime violations under the FLSA, as well as certain potential violations under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Download the agency’s free timesheet app for Android and iOS devices to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

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JACKSON, MS – The U.S. Department of Labor recovered $122,476 in back wages for 140 workers following an investigation that found a Mendenhall-based cooling, heating, and electrical employer failed to pay workers their full wages, in violation of federal law.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division determined that AirSouth LLC – operating as AirSouth Cooling and Heating – did not include non-discretionary bonuses when calculating overtime wages for workers and failed to issue final paychecks to two employees in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.  

“The U.S. Department of Labor is dedicated to ensuring that workers receive the wages they have rightfully earned,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Audrey Hall in Jackson, Mississippi. “This case serves as an important reminder for employers to review and assess their pay practices to help prevent violations. The Wage and Hour Division is available to help employers who have questions about minimum wage and overtime compliance.”

Established in 2016, AirSouth LLC’s headquarters is in Mendenhall and the employer has another branch in Greenville.

Employers and workers can call the division with questions and requests for compliance assistance at its toll-free helpline, 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers are encouraged to use the agency’s industry-specific compliance assistance toolkits and to review relevant opinion letters and other guidance to learn about their responsibilities under the laws enforced by the division. The agency’s PAID program offers employers an opportunity to self-report and resolve potential minimum wage and overtime violations under the FLSA, as well as certain potential violations under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Employers and workers can call the division with questions and requests for compliance assistance through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Download the agency’s free Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices to track hours and pay.

AUSTIN, TX – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $85,197 in back wages for 36 employees after an investigation found a coffee bar and lounge in Buda operated an illegal tip pool.

An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined that Nate's At The Buda Mill & Grain Inc. – operating as Nate's Coffee & Cocktails – violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by allowing its general manager to participate in the employee tip pool. This invalidated the employer’s use of the tip credit and required the employer to pay full minimum wage to affected workers, which the company failed to pay. 

The FLSA permits an employer to take a tip credit toward its minimum wage obligations for tipped employees if employees receive enough tips from customers and direct wages per workweek to equal at least the minimum wage compensation required under federal law. However employers, including managers and supervisors, may not keep any portion of employees’ tips for any purpose.

“By law, managers and supervisors are not allowed to retain employees’ tips or participate in a tip pool. Service workers are entitled to all the tips they earn from customers and managers are not permitted to take away those rewards given for employees’ hard work,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Charles Frasier, in Houston. “Employers are encouraged to contact us for any questions about their obligations under the law. We are here to provide assistance.”

Workers and employers can call the Wage and Hour Division with questions and requests for compliance assistance at its toll-free helpline, 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers are encouraged to use the agency’s industry-specific compliance assistance toolkits to learn about their responsibilities under the laws enforced by the division. The agency’s PAID program offers employers an opportunity to self-report and resolve potential minimum wage and overtime violations under the FLSA, as well as certain potential violations under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool that workers can use if they think they may be owed back wages collected by the division. Download the agency’s free timesheet app for iOS and Android devices to track hours and pay.

COLUMBIA, SC – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $95,095 in back wages for 33 cooks at three IHOP franchise locations that failed to pay overtime – as federal law requires – at locations in both North and South Carolina.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found a restaurant franchise based in Westend, North Carolina violated overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act at all three of its locations after it paid cooks straight time for all hours worked instead of the federally-mandated time-and-one-half their regular rate for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek. The employer – which operated all three establishments as IHOP restaurants – also maintained payroll records that falsely listed those wage payments as bonuses.

The division’s investigation found these overtime violations at Foothills Hospitality LLC in Easley, South Carolina, as well as Sandhill Hospitality LLC in Southern Pines and Highland Hospitality LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina.                                               

“Wage violations like these are all too common in the restaurant industry. Employers are encouraged to review their pay practices to ensure they pay workers in accordance with the law,” said Wage and Hour Division Acting District Director Michael Gannet in Columbia, South Carolina. “The Wage and Hour Division offers assistance to help employers, regardless of the industry, understand their legal obligations.”

Employers and workers can contact the Wage and Hour Division with questions and requests for compliance assistance at its toll-free number, 1-866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers are encouraged to use the agency’s industry-specific compliance assistance toolkits to learn about their responsibilities under the laws enforced by the division. The agency’s PAID program offers employers an opportunity to self-report and resolve potential minimum wage and overtime violations under the FLSA, as well as certain potential violations under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including its search tool for workers to learn if they are owed back wages collected by the division. Download the agency’s free timesheet app for iOS and Android devices to track hours and pay.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration today issued a proposed rule designed to protect the wages and job opportunities of American workers by stripping away the ability of employers to pay substandard wages to foreign workers in certain visa programs.

The proposed rule would modernize the existing methodology for determining prevailing wage levels in the permanent labor certification, H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 visa programs. The updated methodology would use statistically grounded percentile thresholds derived from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey to bring the wages paid to foreign workers in line with wages paid to similarly employed American workers. This much-needed change aims to curb abuse of certain visa programs by reducing the incentive to displace American workers with low-wage foreign visa holders and establishing parity between the wages paid to U.S. workers and foreign workers entering the country on certain employment-based visas.

Existing prevailing wage levels have, for too long, been set dramatically below the market rates which many American workers receive, particularly entry-level Americans and recent college graduates in science, technology, engineering, and math fields. Because of this, the H-1B program has been distorted by hiring practices that abuse the program to replace their existing American workforce with cheap foreign labor. 

“The Trump Administration is committed to ensuring that American workers are not disadvantaged by unfair wage practices,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer. “This proposed rule will help ensure that employers pay foreign workers wages that reflect the real market value of their labor, in addition to protecting the wages and job opportunities of American workers. The continued abuse of the H-1B program by certain bad actors will no longer be tolerated.”

Under current law, U.S. employers seeking to hire temporary foreign workers through the H-1B, H-1B1, or E-3 visa programs must pay foreign workers the higher of the prevailing wage for the area of intended employment or the actual wage rate paid to similarly qualified U.S. workers in the area of intended employment. For employers seeking to hire foreign workers permanently through the permanent labor certification program, employers are required to offer and pay foreign workers at least the prevailing wage for the job opportunity in the area of intended employment. This prevailing wage serves effectively as a wage floor, and an employer must attest that they are offering at least the prevailing wage at the time of filing, that the wage offered during recruitment is at least the prevailing wage, and that the employer will actually pay at least the prevailing wage when a foreign worker begins their employment. 

By seeking to implement these proposed changes, the Department of Labor aspires to improve the correlation between wages paid to foreign workers and those paid to American workers with similar skills and qualifications, reduce the economic incentives to underpay foreign workers and undermine the American workforce, and promote fair competition in the American labor market.

Comments on the proposed rule are due 60 days after publication in the March 27, 2026, edition of the Federal Register. Additional information and technical assistance materials will be available on ETA’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification page.

Read ETA’s notice of proposed rulemaking on prevailing wages for certain visa programs.  

DALLAS – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division will hold a hybrid in-person and virtual agricultural seminar to provide guidance on federal laws governing agricultural industry employment for growers, farmers, shippers, contractors, farm labor contractors, buyers, and agricultural workers nationwide.

The division will join other federal agencies to discuss key agricultural labor topics including the H-2A temporary agricultural program, Fair Labor Standards Act, and Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act.

Participating federal agencies include the department’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, and others.

Discussions will include overviews of the requirements for wages, housing, transportation, field sanitation, farm labor contractor certification, the H-2A petition process, and more.

The seminar is scheduled for March 24, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. CDT. Registration is required. 

CALEXICO, CA – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement agreement with a Calexico-based freight and cargo service company after a federal investigation found the employer denied minimum wage and overtime pay to 24 workers, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

The agreement follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found Expresso Forwarding Inc. and its affiliate, Agencia Aduanal Esquer Luken S.C., employed customs brokerage warehouse workers who traveled from Mexico to work at the company’s U.S. warehouse. The employers paid the workers in Mexican pesos at rates that equaled as little as $2.03 per hour, in violation of federal wage requirements. The investigation also found that workers were not paid required overtime rates for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.  

 “Employers operating in the U.S. must understand that regardless of where they are headquartered, workers who perform work on this side of the border must be paid in accordance with U.S. labor laws,” said Wage and Hour Division Administrator Andrew Rogers. “When a company pays wages in Mexican pesos that fall well below the U.S. minimum wage, it creates an unfair advantage over law-abiding employers and discourages U.S. workers from competing for those jobs. The Department of Labor will continue to use all legal avenues to ensure compliance in this industry."  

After negotiations with the Office of the Solicitor, the employer entered a settlement agreement with the department to pay $1.08 million in back wages and damages to the 24 employees and agreed to comply with the FLSA. Expresso Forwarding Inc. agreed to a payment plan scheduled from Jan. 15, 2026, to Dec. 15, 2026. 

 Over the last five years, the department’s Wage and Hour Division has recovered more than $4.8 million in back wages for more than 3,700 warehouse workers. 
 
The FLSA requires that most employees be paid overtime at time and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. 

Employers and workers can call the division with questions and requests for compliance assistance at its toll-free helpline, 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers are encouraged to use the agency’s industry-specific compliance assistance toolkits to learn about their responsibilities under the laws enforced by the division. The agency’s PAID program offers employers an opportunity to self-report and resolve potential minimum wage and overtime violations under the FLSA, as well as certain potential violations under the Family and Medical Leave Act. 

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Download the agency’s free timesheet app for iOS and Android devices to track hours and pay.  

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NAMPA, ID – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $293,698 in back wages for 56 workers employed by a Nampa-based residential construction company after a federal investigation found the employer denied them overtime pay in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined Speedy’s Framing LLC paid employees straight time rates for hours worked over 40 in a workweek instead of paying the federally mandated overtime premium. The division also found the employer failed to pay travel time for one foreman who drove the employer’s vehicles between the shop and work sites, which resulted in additional unpaid overtime. 

The division recovered back wages for each affected worker ranging between $90 and $32,047. The employer also paid a $24,795 civil money penalty due to the willful nature of the violations.

“The U.S. Department of Labor is determined to hold employers accountable, particularly when they deliberately attempt to evade the law by denying workers overtime pay,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Katherine Walum in Portland, Oregon. “Federal law protects workers’ rights to be paid their full, earned wages. We encourage employers to contact us for compliance assistance so they can prevent violations.” 

Speedy’s Framing agreed to pay the back wages and to comply with the FLSA’s overtime and recordkeeping requirements going forward. 

The FLSA requires that most employees be paid overtime at time and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. 

Employers and workers can call the division with questions and requests for compliance assistance at its toll-free helpline, 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers are encouraged to use the agency’s industry-specific compliance assistance toolkits to learn about their responsibilities under the laws enforced by the division. The agency’s PAID program offers employers an opportunity to self-report and resolve potential minimum wage and overtime violations under the FLSA, as well as certain potential violations under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Download the agency’s free timesheet app for iOS and Android devices to track hours and pay.

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