BOSTON – Un tribunal federal de Boston dictó una sentencia acordada por las partes en mayo de 2023, en la que ordenó a dos agencias de reclutamiento del condado de Middlesex y a sus propietarios pagar un total de $256,992 en concepto de salarios atrasados e indemnización por daños y perjuicios a 238 empleados actuales y exempleados que ocupaban puestos en empresas de Maine, Massachusetts y New Hampshire.

El Departamento de Trabajo de los EE. UU. logró el fallo a raíz de su investigación de las prácticas de pago de las agencias de reclutamiento en virtud de la Ley de Normas Justas de Trabajo (Fair Labor Standards Act, FLSA). La División de Horas y Salarios del departamento está tratando de localizar y distribuir el dinero a los trabajadores a los que se deben estos salarios e indemnización por daños y perjuicios.

Empone Inc. de Lowell y Talenique Inc. de Tyngsboro suministraron empleados temporales a empresas como Greenhead Lobster Products LLC de Stonington, Maine; Maine Coast Shellfish LLC de York, Maine; Bombay Duck Company Ltd. de Acton, Massachusetts; y Alene Candles LLC de Milford, New Hampshire.

Los investigadores de la División de Horas y Salarios descubrieron que Empone y Talenique infringieron la FLSA porque no les pagaron a los empleados su remuneración con un recargo del 50 % por cada hora trabajada más allá de las 40 horas semanales. En la investigación, también se descubrieron infracciones de la FLSA en materia de registros contables.

Empone y Talenique han abonado los salarios y la indemnización por daños y perjuicios adeudados a la división, que está distribuyendo estos fondos entre los trabajadores. También pagarán $463,407 en concepto de sanciones pecuniarias civiles al Departamento de Trabajo, debido a la naturaleza intencionada de sus infracciones.

“Estas agencias de reclutamiento no les pagaban a sus trabajadores una remuneración con un recargo del 50 % por cada hora trabajada más allá de las 40 horas semanales. En lugar de ello, Empone y Talenique les negaron a los trabajadores los salarios íntegros que deberían haber percibido”, explicó el director de distrito de la División de Horas y Salarios, Carlos Matos, en Boston.

“Los trabajadores temporales pueden ser vulnerables a la explotación y a salarios más bajos de los que corresponden, pero las empresas que contratan a trabajadores temporales también pueden tener responsabilidades”, señaló Matos. “También pueden ser responsables como empleadores conjuntos si los trabajadores temporales no perciben un salario adecuado. La División de Horas y Salarios anima a los empleadores conjuntos, incluidos los que recurren a agencias de reclutamiento temporal, a verificar que todos los empleados perciban un salario adecuado conforme a la Ley de Normas Justas de Trabajo”.

“Los empleadores conjuntos, incluidas las agencias de reclutamiento y las empresas anfitrionas en algunas circunstancias, pueden estar sujetos al cumplimiento de la Ley de Normas Justas de Trabajo, lo que comprende la garantía de que los empleados perciban toda la remuneración que ganan”, comentó la procuradora regional de trabajo Maia Fisher en Boston. “Este caso envía un mensaje claro de que el Departamento de Trabajo de los EE. UU. no tolerará que los empleadores despojen a los trabajadores de los salarios que tanto les ha costado ganar y de que tales acciones pueden tener costosas consecuencias para los empleadores que hagan caso omiso a la ley”.

La Asociación Camboyana de Asistencia Mutua de Lowell está ayudando a la División de Horas y Salarios a localizar a los empleados a los que se les deben salarios atrasados e indemnizaciones por daños y perjuicios, ya que muchos de los trabajadores hablan jemer y es posible que se hayan mudado o desconozcan que se les debe el dinero que ganaron. Los trabajadores pueden llamar a la asociación al 978-454-6200 o a la oficina del distrito de Boston de la División de Horas y Salarios al 617-624-6700.

Obtenga más información sobre la División de Horas y Salarios, incluida su herramienta de búsqueda que puede utilizar si cree que se le adeudan salarios atrasados cobrados por la división. Los empleadores y los trabajadores pueden llamar de forma confidencial a la división para hacer preguntas, independientemente de su situación migratoria. La división puede hablar con las personas que llaman en más de 200 idiomas a través del teléfono gratuito de ayuda del organismo, el 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Descargue la nueva aplicación Hoja de Tiempo del organismo para dispositivos iOS y Android en inglés o español para asegurarse de que las horas y el pago sean correctos.

Este comunicado de prensa también está disponible en inglés.    

BOSTON – A federal court in Boston entered a consent judgment in May of 2023, ordering two Middlesex County employment staffing agencies and their owners to pay a total of $256,992 in back wages and liquidated damages to 238 current and former employees who were placed with businesses in Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. 

The U.S. Department of Labor obtained the judgment following its investigation of the staffing agencies’ payment practices under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The department’s Wage and Hour Division is seeking to locate and distribute the money to the workers who are owed these wages and damages.  

Empone Inc. of Lowell and Talenique Inc. of Tyngsboro supplied temporary employees to companies such as Greenhead Lobster Products LLC in Stonington, Maine; Maine Coast Shellfish LLC in York, Maine; Bombay Duck Company Ltd. in Acton, Massachusetts; and Alene Candles LLC in Milford, New Hampshire. 

Wage and Hour Division investigators found that Empone and Talenique violated the FLSA when they failed to pay employees time and one half their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a work week. The investigation also uncovered FLSA recordkeeping violations. 

Empone and Talenique have paid the wages and liquidated damages owed to the division, which is distributing these funds to the workers. Empone and Talenique will also pay $463,407 in civil money penalties to the labor department, due to the willful nature of their violations.

“These staffing agencies failed to pay their workers time and a half for hours worked over 40 per week. Instead, Empone and Talenique denied the workers the full wages they should have received,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Carlos Matos in Boston. 

“Temporary workers can be vulnerable to exploitation and underpayment, but the companies who contract for temporary workers can have responsibilities as well,” noted Matos. “They may also be liable as joint employers if the temporary employees are not paid properly. The Wage and Hour Division encourages joint employers, including those who use temporary staffing agencies, to verify that all employees are being paid properly under the Fair Labor Standards Act.”

“Joint employers, including staffing agencies and host companies in some circumstances, can both be responsible for complying with the Fair Labor Standards Act, including ensuring that employees receive all the compensation they earn,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Maia Fisher in Boston. “This case sends a clear message that the U.S. Department of Labor will not tolerate employers that shortchange workers of their hard-earned wages and that such actions can have costly consequences for employers who disregard the law.”

The Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association in Lowell is assisting the Wage and Hour Division in locating employees that are due back wages and damages, as many of the workers speak Khmer and may have moved or are unaware they are owed the monies they earned. Workers can contact the association at 978-454-6200 or the Wage and Hour Division’s Boston District Office at 617-624-6700. 

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 confidentially with questions, regardless of immigration status. The division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices in English or Spanish to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

Su v. Empone Inc, Talenique Inc. Vanchan Tok and Natalie Sokhom a/k/a Jenny Tok

Civil Action No. 1:23-cv-10963

This press release is also available in Spanish.

Employer:      Supermart El Torito Inc.

                        1409 Central Avenue

                         Kansas City, KS 

Investigation findings: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division recovered $155,990 ‒ representing $77,995 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages ‒ for 158 employees of Supermart El Torito Inc. in Kansas City, Kansas. The division also assessed the employer with $187,546 in civil money penalties for repeated violations of Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime provisions.

Investigators found that Supermart El Torito paid employees overtime at time and a-half the employee’s rate of pay, as required when they worked between 41 and 58 hours a week. When an employee worked more than 58 hours per week, the employer paid the additional time at the worker’s straight-time hourly rate in cash. By law, Supermart El Torito should have paid employees time and one-half their hourly rate for all hours over 40 in a workweek. The employer also failed to record and retain accurate employee time records. 

The division cited the employer for violations found at its Kansas City location at 1409 Central Avenue. Supermart El Torito operates two food stores in Kansas City and one in Topeka. 

Quote: “When an employer shortchanges its workers their rightfully earned wages, such as overtime, knowingly, they take money out of workers’ pockets,” explained Wage and Hour District Director Reed Trone in Kansas City, Missouri. “Our investigation found Supermart El Torito chose to ignore the law.”

Background: 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 and how to file an online complaint, including if you think you are misclassified as an independent contractor. For confidential compliance assistance, employees and employers can call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from.

Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices – also available in Spanish – to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

WASHINGTON – New research released today by the U.S. Department of Labor reveals that Black women lost $42.7 billion in wages compared to white men in 2023, and Hispanic women lost $53.3 billion in wages. These losses are driven entirely by the fact that Black and Hispanic women are concentrated disproportionately in jobs that, on average, pay lower wages than those held by white men.

“As we mark Equal Pay Day today, the Department of Labor’s ‘Bearing the Cost’ report is further evidence that women have long been undervalued in jobs and industries where they are overrepresented,” said Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. “The Biden-Harris administration is centering racial and gender equity in our economic growth plan, working to close the racial and gender pay gaps by expanding both opportunity and job quality for women.”

Job segregation is a long-standing driver of the persistent pay inequities experienced by women in the U.S. In 2022, the gender wage gap – the difference between the median wages of men and women working full-time year-round – was 16 percent, which means women working full-time year-round received 84 cents for every dollar paid to men. Compared to white, non-Hispanic men, the wage gaps were 20 percent for white, non-Hispanic women; 31 percent for Black women; and 43 percent for Hispanic women. 

“Job segregation results in lower wages for women, especially women of color and their families, and hurts the whole economy,” said Women’s Bureau Director Wendy Chun-Hoon. “The Biden-Harris administration is implementing proven strategies to address economic disparities and working to eliminate the wage gap for all workers.”

Learn more about the research. 

Employer:      Family Hands Adult Care Facility LLC 

                        10016 LaSalle Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90047                                                                                                     

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that Family Hands Adult Care Facility, operator of three residential care facilities for special needs patients in Los Angeles, blatantly disregarded the overtime pay requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Investigators determined the employer paid regular hourly rates to employees for overtime hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. During the review, owner Tina Scruggs-Tate told investigators that she did not maintain employee time records despite the fact that workers used identification numbers and fingerprints to clock in and out of work daily.

Back Wages Recovered:       $64,800 in unpaid overtime for 26 employees

                                                $64,800 in liquidated damages for 26 employees

                                                $9,684 in civil money penalties for willful violations

Quote: “The U.S. Department of Labor too often finds residential care employers taking advantage of vulnerable workers who provide critical services for people in need,” said Wage and Hour Division Assistant District Director Susan Bacon in Los Angeles. “Family Hands Adult Care Facility’s flagrant denial of required overtime pay violated the rights of employees to be paid fully. We will hold such bad actors to account for their workplace abuse and exploitation.”

Background: In 2023, the division’s Los Angeles District Office completed 12 investigations of care industry employers, recovered more than $983,000 in wages and liquidated damages for care workers and conducted 14 educational outreach events for this industry. 

Workers can use the division's Workers Owed Wages search tool to see if they are owed back wages collected by the division. Employers and workers can contact the Wage and Hour Division for help and assistance at its toll-free number 1-866-4-US-WAGE. Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division.  Workers and employers alike can help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and IOS Timesheet App for free in English or Spanish.

NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Wage and Hour Division’s New Orleans district office has signed a collaborative agreement with the Southeast Louisiana Building and Construction Trades Council to protect workers and promote compliance with federal labor laws. 

The partnership will help both organizations cross-train staff, ease outreach efforts and identify possible labor violations. It will also expand information sharing and create opportunities to inform workers about their legal protections and improve employer awareness of their obligations.

“The Wage and Hour Division is pleased to enter this partnership with the Southeast Louisiana Building and Construction Trades Council,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Troy Mouton in New Orleans. “Our agencies’ goals complement each other and create unique opportunities to provide critical services to those who need them most.”

The three-year agreement will help provide construction workers in Louisiana with information, guidance and access to educational and training resources to help them exercise their rights, particularly those protected by minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping and child labor laws. It also will include compliance assistance activities to help employers understand their labor compliance obligations.

Learn more about the laws enforced by the division or contact its toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Calls can be answered in more than 200 languages, regardless of where you are from.

Learn more about the Southeast Louisiana Building and Construction Trades Council.

Employer:      Jani Enterprises Inc., operating one Subway restaurant in Des Moines and one in Kent, WA

Keeyarah Enterprises Inc., operating two Subway restaurants in Lake Stevens, WA

Kian Enterprises Inc., operating three Subway restaurants in Marysville and one in Arlington, WA

Quantum Enterprises USA Inc., operating one Subway restaurant in Monroe and one in Sultan, WA

Investigation findings: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found 10 Subway restaurants under common ownership allowed owners and managers to participate in employees’ tip pools, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Division investigators determined the illegal practice deprived 100 employees in Arlington, Des Moines, Kent, Lake Stevens, Marysville, Monroe and Sultan of the tips left by customers though credit card payments. Additionally, the employer manually adjusted employee timesheets to reduce hours worked to 40 hours or fewer per week and failed to combine hours worked at multiple locations to evade its legal obligation to pay overtime rates. 

Back Wages Recovered:       $80,528 in tips and $17,546 in overtime wages for 100 employees

                                                $98,074 in liquidated damages for 100 employees

                                                $22,017 in civil money penalties for the willful nature of the violations

Quote: “These Subway owners and managers willfully violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by underpaying employees and pocketing tips that did not belong to them,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Thomas Silva in Seattle. “We encourage employers to review their practices and avoid the costly consequences of illegal actions.”

Context: Workers can use the division’s Workers Owed Wages search tool to see if they are owed back wages collected by the division. Employers and workers can contact the Wage and Hour Division for help and assistance at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE. Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including the agency’s restaurants compliance assistance toolkit and an overview about the FLSA protections for restaurant workers. Workers and employers alike can help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and IOS Timesheet App for free in English or Spanish.  

This news release is also available in Spanish. 

Employer name:        Boom-a-Rang Diner

Investigation site:      53 locations in Oklahoma

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found 53 locations of 

Boom-a-Rang Diner failed to include employee monthly performance bonuses to non-exempt management personnel in their regular pay rate when computing overtime wages, as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

Back wages and damages: $54,423 in back wages and $54,423 in liquidated damages to 107 employees

Quote: “Restaurant employers must ensure that workers receive all the wages they earn – including proper overtime wages. They must include all non-discretionary bonus payments in overtime computations,” explained Wage and Hour District Director Michael Speer in Oklahoma City. “The Wage and Hour Division is here to answer any questions or concerns regarding pay practices from employers or workers.”

Background: The Wage and Hour Division enforces laws governing pay practices and other labor standards, including the Fair Labor Standards Act. Please review our Fact Sheet for general information regarding the regular rate of pay under the FLSA. 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. Workers and employers can contact the division confidentially at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE (487-9243). The division protects workers regardless of immigration status and can communicate with workers in more than 200 languages.

Lea en Español

Employer:      H.K. Construction Corp. 

                        2046 South King St.

Hawaii, HI 96826                                                                                                     

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that H.K. Construction, a company offering residential construction services on the island of Oahu, recklessly disregarded the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act and underpaid dozens of field employees the wages they legally earned. Investigators determined H.K. Construction failed to pay overtime rates by banking or saving hours worked over 40 in a workweek for payment in another pay period where employees worked fewer than 40 hours. The employer also attempted to substitute the cost of tools for the employee for the wages it owed. Additionally, H.K. Construction did not record and pay hours worked by office employees and incorrectly misclassified several workers as exempt for overtime pay.

Back Wages Recovered:       $59,679 in unpaid overtime and unrecorded hours worked for 43 employees

                                                $59,679 in liquidated damages for 43 employees

                                                $14,526 in civil money penalties for reckless violations

Quote: “Employers can’t delay payment or borrow against earned wages, including overtime premium wages,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Terence Trotter in Honolulu. “This construction company recklessly violated their employees’ right to receive the overtime pay they earned. This case should serve as a reminder to all employers that wages due must be paid correctly and on time.”

Context: Workers can use the division’s Workers Owed Wages search tool to see if they are owed back wages collected by the division. Employers and workers can contact the Wage and Hour Division for help and assistance at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE. Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division.  Workers and employers alike can help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and IOS Timesheet App for free in English or Spanish.  

SIOUX FALLS, SD – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is surveying the building and heavy construction industry of South Dakota to set prevailing wage rates, as required under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, for the payment of construction workers on federally funded and federally assisted construction projects.

The DBRA directs the department to set the prevailing wage rates that reflect the actual wages and fringe benefits paid to construction workers in the county where the work takes place. 

This survey requests information about wages paid to construction workers on building and heavy construction projects in South Dakota where construction occurred between March 25, 2023, and June 25, 2024. This is a statewide survey and is not limited to federally funded construction projects. The data collection period will begin March 25, 2024, and will conclude on June 25, 2024. The department encourages all stakeholders to participate in the survey.

Participation in the survey process is critical to the publication of prevailing wage and fringe benefit rates that accurately reflect the rates paid in the area being surveyed. Complete determinations reduce the need for contractors to request additional labor classifications. 

The best way to participate in the survey is online. The Wage and Hour Division will send notification letters to interested parties and contractors known to the agency. The letter will direct you to the website where you can complete the survey online. To be included, please complete and submit the online survey by June 25, 2024. If you would prefer to submit the information by mail, you can contact the team at (866) 236-2773 and request a form be mailed to you. All contractors and other interested parties are encouraged to participate in the survey and do not need to have received a letter to participate. The survey can be completed online.

If you have questions about the survey process and forms, please contact the Davis-Bacon Survey Center at 866-236-2773 or davisbaconinfo@dol.gov. 

People interested in getting more information about this survey may attend one of two free, online briefings that will describe the survey process and offer instructions for completing the survey. These briefings will be held on March 26 and March 28, 2024. 

 Register to attend an upcoming briefing. 

Learn more about the surveys. 

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 and how to file an online complaint. For confidential compliance assistance, workers and employers can call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from.