Employer:      Universal Welding and Construction Inc.

                        12558 Snow Road

Bakersfield, CA 93314                                                                                                     

Investigation findings: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Universal Welding and Construction Inc. failed to pay 74 workers overtime rates for the hours they worked beyond 40 in a workweek, denying workers their full earnings in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Back Wages Recovered:       $85,004 in unpaid overtime wages for 74 employees

$85,004 in liquidated damages for 74 employees                                                                             

                                                $34,954 in civil money penalties

Quote: “Employers must pay their workers all the wages they have earned for their work, including overtime,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Cesar Avila in Sacramento. “We urge employers to call us for compliance assistance and learn about our online educational tools to avoid violations like those in this case.” 

Context: The FLSA requires that most employees in the U.S. be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay at not less than time and one-half the regular rate of pay for all hours over 40 in a workweek. Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division and workers’ rights, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

Employers and workers can call division staff confidentially with questions, regardless of where they are from, and the department can speak with callers confidentially in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Download the agency’s new, free Timesheet App for android devices, available in English and Spanish, to help track work hours and pay.

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Employers:    NurseRight Staffing Agency LLC

    Kwame Adjekum

Actions:          Fair Labor Standards Act complaint filing

Courts:           U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Western Division

Investigation findings: On Feb. 7, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois seeking a total of $140,976 ‒ representing $70,488 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages ‒ for 41 people employed by NurseRight Staffing Agency LLC of Rockford, Illinois.

An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division alleged NurseRight Staffing Agency LLC

misclassified its employees – registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and certified nursing assistants – as independent contractors and, therefore, failed to pay them overtime at time and one-half their hourly rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. The company also failed to make and maintain complete and accurate time and pay records that indicated actual work hours and earned wages on a weekly basis for all employees, all of which violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The suit also names the company’s manager, Kwame Adjekum, who is responsible for daily operations, including setting schedules and pay rates and hiring and firing employees.

Quote: “When employers misclassify workers as independent contractors, they deny them wages due under the Fair Labor Standards Act – such as overtime – and fail to pay employment taxes or workers’ compensation on their behalf,” explained Wage and Hour District Director Tom Gauza in Chicago. “There are clear conditions that must be met for an individual to be classified as an independent contractor. Employers or workers with questions about whether they are independent contractors or employees should contact the Wage and Hour Division for guidance.”

“This case demonstrates the U.S. Department of Labor’s ongoing commitment to ensuring workers receive their rightfully earned pay by using all legal tools available,” added Regional Solicitor Christine Heri in Chicago.  

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.

U.S. Department of Labor v. NurseRight Staffing Agency LLC

Civil Action No. 3:24-cv-50063

# # #

Employer:              Pizzicato Inc.

                                    121 South Bancroft St.

 Portland, OR 97239                                                                                        

Type of action:          Consent Judgment and Order

Name of defendants: Pizzicato Inc; Mark Frankel; Tracy Frankel; and John-Felix Rippel

Background: Aninvestigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found 11 restaurants operating under Portland-based restaurant chain Pizzicato illegally allowed managers to participate in tip pools and by doing so withheld a portion of employees’ earned tips. Federal law prohibits restaurant employers from tipping out managers from a tip pool, including managers paid on an hourly basis. The investigation also revealed the employer hired a 17-year-old minor to drive a motor vehicle, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s hazardous occupations for minors.

Resolution: The consent judgment permanently enjoins Pizzicato owners Mark and Tracy Frankel and company officer John-Felix Rippel from violating the FLSA and orders the payment of $270,101 in back wages as well as $270,101 in liquidated damages, for a total of $540,202 for 367 employees. The court also ordered Pizzicato to pay $29,797 in penalties. 

Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon

Quotes: “The resolution of this case should remind restaurant employers that the law forbids managers and supervisors to participate in tip-pools and pocket a portion of employees’ tips,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Marc Pilotin in San Francisco. “The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to ensuring that employees receive all the money they earn, including tips paid by customers.”

“Wage theft, including employers’ pocketing workers’ tips, is a major concern for restaurant industry workers, who are some of the most vulnerable, low-wage workers in our community,” added Wage and Hour Division District Director Katherine Walum in Portland. 

The division’s Portland district office conducted the investigation. The San Francisco Regional Office of the Solicitor reached the consent judgment in court.

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. You can find other information on the agency’s website if you think you may have been misclassified as an independent contractor, or want to know how to file an online complaint. 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.

Docket Number: 3:34-cv-00202-SI

Employer:      Maui L&L Food Inc., operating as L&L Hawaiian Barbecue

                        270 Dairy Road

Kahului, HI 96732                                                                                                     

Investigation findings: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Hui Bing Zhang, owner of Kahului-based L&L Hawaiian Barbecue on Maui, illegally kept a portion of employees tips and deprived them of their lawful overtime earnings by knowingly underpaying their earned premium pay and recording the deficient cash payments separately and outside their normal payroll, both violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.  

Back Wages Recovered:       $58,600 in unpaid overtime wages and $8,791 in withheld tips for 21 employees

$67,391 in damages for 21 employees                                                                             

                                                $5,685 in civil money penalties

Quote: “The U.S. Department of Labor is determined to fight wage theft in the restaurant industry and across all sectors of the economy,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Terence Trotter in Honolulu. “This restaurant employer willfully violated the law by deliberately underpaying workers their overtime wages and pocketing a portion of the tips they earned.” 

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.  

TAMPA, FL – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $184,139 in back wages and liquidated damages for 56 seasonal guest workers and U.S. workers of a Naples restaurant after finding multiple violations of federal nonimmigrant work program regulations and federal minimum wage and overtime regulations. 

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found Sails Restaurant LLC violated provisions of the H-2B worker visa program by misrepresenting job requirements, including willfully misrepresenting access to high-paid server positions – suggesting unlimited earnings potential when instead no such job existed and promotional positions out of reach for many – and shifting a dining room attendant to another job as a construction laborer. The agency also found the employer:

• Imposed special experience requirements for H-2B workers to qualify for jobs. 
• Failed to list all qualifications in the job order.
• Did not give proper notices related to job termination, denying H-2B workers U.S. work status rights.
• Improperly classified jobs or excluded job tasks on work orders.
• Failed to provide job orders or notify workers of their rights. 
• Did not reimburse visa expenses for H-2B workers, despite being aware of the requirement.

The division assessed $53,536 in civil money penalties.

“Federal law protects nonimmigrant workers employed under the H-2B program, and Sails Restaurant – which has used the program before and is well aware of its requirements – violated those laws,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Nicolas Ratmiroff in Tampa, Florida. “All workers, both U.S. and nonimmigrant workers, must be paid their lawfully earned wages.”

Investigators also found the employer illegally kept the tips of some H-2B and U.S. workers, failed to pay one worker their last paycheck and paid an incorrect overtime rate to tipped employees, all violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“Hospitality and food industry employers must understand that regardless of whether the employer is taking a tip credit, employers are prohibited from keeping employee tips or requiring that an employee give their tips to the employer, a supervisor, or manager. The division has numerous resources available on our website and has staff available who are able to answer questions and provide compliance assistance to employers,” Ratmiroff added.

On Feb. 22 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (EDT), the Wage and Hour Division will host a free webinar to educate employers in the hospitality industry of the requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act and H-2B provisions. Information related to requirements under Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and Employment and Training Administration Office of Foreign Labor Certification will also be provided. The event is free but registration is required.

The federal H-2B visa program permits U.S. employers to temporarily hire nonimmigrants to perform nonagricultural labor or services. The employment must be for a limited, specific period of time, such as a one-time occurrence, seasonal, peak load or intermittent need.

Sails Restaurant is a full-service dining establishment in Naples. The restaurant opened in February 2018 and employs about 60 workers during season.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Workers and employers can contact the division confidentially and the department can assist callers in more than 200 languages.

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 timesheet app, which is free and available in English and Spanish for Android and iOS devices, to track hours and pay.

Employer:      Michigan Multi-King Inc., doing business as Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen

                        4897 Rochester Road

                        Troy, MI 48085

Investigation findings: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found teens working at a Troy Popeyes franchise in violation of hours allowed by the Fair Labor Standards Act’s child labor standards. 

The investigation disclosed a total of 63 teens – ages 14 and 15 – worked more than 18 hours when school was in session and/or worked past 7 p.m. before June 1 and past 9 p.m. between June 1 and Labor Day. 

Resolution: The division assessed the employer $48,251 in civil money penalties for the violations. 

Quote: “Far too often, we find teens working hours that are not allowed by the Fair Labor Standards Act,” said Wage and Hour District Director Timolin Mitchell in Detroit. “Child labor laws were enacted nearly a century ago to protect children. Employers that hire teen labor must ensure they follow the law while allowing teens to earn valuable work experience.”

Background: The FLSA prohibits 14- and 15-year-old employees from working later than 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day and past 7 p.m. the remainder of the year. Additionally, they cannot work more than 3 hours on a school day, 8 hours on a non-school day or more than 18 hours per week. The law also prohibits minors from operating motor vehicles, forklifts and using other hazardous equipment.

To assist employers in avoiding violations and inform young workers and their parents, the division has published its “Seven Child Labor Best Practices for Employers.” View child labor information for employers, parents, young workers and educators.

In February 2023, the department announced the creation of an Interagency Task Force to Combat Child Labor Exploitation to better align federal efforts to protect children from exploitative situations in the workplace. In fiscal year 2023, department investigators identified child labor violations in 955 cases and assessed employers with more than $8 million in penalties.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, 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, 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.

BARRIGADA, GUAM – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $547,378 in back wages and liquidated damages for 139 employees of a federal construction contractor in Guam who shortchanged them in violation of federal labor laws.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined Ian Corporation – operating as Ian Construction – violated multiple federal regulations governing the employment of workers on projects supported by federal funds. The division found the company and owner Jihyung P. Chong violated prevailing wage requirements under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts and the overtime requirements of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act and Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay for all hours worked.

The division recovered a total of $295,420 in back wages and $251,957 in liquidated damages for 139 employees. 

In addition to back wages and damages recovered for workers, the employer’s repeated and willful violations led the department to assess $50,000 in penalties. 

This is not the first time the department has investigated Ian Construction. The division previously investigated this federal contractor in 2012, 2016 and 2021 for multiple violations, including overtime, health and welfare benefits, driving time, hours not paid and illegal deductions, resulting in a combined recovery of $10,849 for 44 workers. 

“Just like there are baseline building standards for the construction of homes and community infrastructure, there are also baseline wage standards for the workers who build them. These must be adhered to at all times,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Terence Trotter in Honolulu. “Counting and paying for all hours worked, including mandated breaks of short duration, isn’t just a good idea – it's the law.”

Learn more about the DBRA, the CWHSSA and other laws enforced by the division, as well as a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. The department can speak with callers confidentially 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, now available for Android and iOS devices in English and Spanish, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division.

Read this news release En Español. 

Employer:                              Boatwright Farms LLC

                                                2683 County Road 42

                                                Steele, AL 35987                         

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found that a Steele agriculture employer underpaid 106 U.S. workers, giving them a lower rate of pay than legally required, among other violations. The agency found that Boatwright Farms LLC recruited and hired H-2A workers to plant, grow, harvest and prepare tomatoes for shipping. The employer violated regulations of the H-2A program by paying U.S. workers in corresponding jobs a lower hourly rate than offered to H-2A workers. The employer also failed to satisfy the job order’s requirements by not stating actual terms and conditions and did not give workers their wage and hours statements. Additionally, the employer violated the Migrant and Seasonal Workers Protection Act.

Back wages recovered: The division recovered $8,862 in back wages for 106 workers.

Civil money penalties assessed: The division assessed $9,970 in civil money penalties to the employer. 

Quote: “In order to participate in the H-2A program, agricultural employers are required to pay U.S. workers no less than corresponding H-2A workers,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Kenneth Stripling in Birmingham, Alabama. “Our investigation found that this employer failed to adhere to legal standards when employing workers – including failing to tell them the job requirements and location and failing to give them wage stubs and correct pay. Our agency has multiple resources available to help employers understand their obligations under the law.”

Background: The H-2A program enables agricultural employers to hire temporary non-immigrant workers to meet business demands while protecting U.S. workers. The division offers farmworker rights information, compliance assistance resources for employers and an agriculture compliance assistance toolkit to ensure compliance with the law.

Employees and employers can also contact the Wage and Hour Division at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE. Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions – regardless of where they are from – and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. 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 alike can help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and iOS timesheet app – now available in Spanish – for free. 

BOSTON – A restaurant in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood has paid a total of $320,000 in back wages, liquidated damages and punitive damages to 59 current and former employees to resolve violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

The division’s investigation of SOJUba, located at 1265 Boylston St., found the restaurant failed to inform some workers of their cash wage and tip credit, as the FLSA requires. Further, some ineligible workers were included in the tip pool, resulting in other workers not being paid all the tips they had earned. Certain workers were denied the federal minimum wage as a result of the invalidation of the restaurant’s ability to take a tip credit. 

The FLSA permits an employer to take a tip credit toward its minimum wage and overtime obligations for tipped employees if it ensures that the employees receive enough tips from customers and cash wages per workweek to equal at least the minimum wage and overtime compensation required under the FLSA. 

Investigators also found that SOJUba did not pay at least the minimum wage to front-of-the-house workers for every hour worked, pay employees proper overtime wages for all hours worked over 40 in a work week or maintain accurate payroll records. During the division’s investigation, the business told workers what to say to investigators, in violation of the FLSA’s anti-retaliation provision.

The investigation has resulted in SOJUba paying the affected workers $147,500 in back wages and $147,500 in liquidated damages, plus $25,000 in punitive damages for the retaliation. The back wages cover between Aug. 17, 2019 and Aug. 13, 2022. SOJUba has also paid $40,000 in civil money penalties to the U.S. Department of Labor because of the wage violations’ willful nature.

“The Fair Labor Standards Act clearly spells out an employer’s responsibilities to pay proper minimum wage and overtime rates to employees and forbids employers from attempting to coerce workers or tell them to not participate in a Wage and Hour Division investigation,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Carlos Matos in Boston. “When employers deliberately attempt to ignore the law’s requirements, the U.S. Department of Labor will actively pursue damages and penalties in addition to recouping back wages for employees hurt by such behavior.”

Learn more about how the Wage and Hour Division protects workers against retaliation. 

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 department 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.

Participants:                          U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division

                                                Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

Partnership description:      A Memorandum of Understanding between the Wage and Hour Division and the commonwealth’s Office of the Comptroller continues their collaborative partnership to communicate and cooperate, effectively and efficiently, on areas of common interest to promote compliance with U.S. and the commonwealth’s laws of common concern among the regulated community in Puerto Rico. Activities include sharing jurisdictional information on topics related to both agencies, providing proper support in referrals and conducting joint investigations and cross training of both agencies’ personnel.          

View the agreement between the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division and the Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

Quote:                                     “This agreement continues the mutual efforts of the Wage and Hour Division and the Office of the Comptroller to educate workers and employers and ensure adherence to federal and territorial laws in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,” said Wage and Hour Division Director José R. Vázquez in Guaynabo.

Duration:                               The agreement is effective until Nov. 23, 2028.

Background:                          The Wage and Hour Division enforces the federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act as well as the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Davis Bacon Act, the Service Contract Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes.                            

The Office of the Comptroller has the ministerial duty to audit all revenues, accounts, and disbursements of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, its agencies and instrumentalities and its municipalities, to determine whether they have been made in accordance with commonwealth law. 

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, or call the Caribbean District Office at 787-775-1947. Employers and workers can call the division confidentially with questions regardless of where they are from. The department can speak with callers confidentially 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 — also available in Spanish — to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

This press release is also available in Spanish.