Raleigh, nc – A federal investigation has found that a Virginia-based information technology support company under contract with the U.S. Marine Corps incorrectly classified 10 workers as exempt from overtime, leading to the recovery of $77,627 in back wages and benefits owed to them.

The affected workers were hired for computer systems and tech support of personnel at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, Camp Lejeune and other U.S. military installations.

Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division determined Leidos Inc. applied the administrative exemption under the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act incorrectly. By doing so, the employer failed to pay workers their correct health and welfare and holiday benefits as required by the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act. This resulted in the recovery of $55,593 for the affected workers.

The division also found that, while wrongly exempted from overtime, Leidos paid the 10 workers straight-time rates for all hours worked, which denied them an overtime rate for hours over 40 in a workweek in violation of the FLSA. Investigators determined the employees were due $22,034 in unpaid overtime wages.

“Federal contractors must understand and meet all the requirements associated with performing work on government contracts,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Richard Blaylock in Raleigh, North Carolina. “Our investigation shows the Department of Labor’s commitment to making sure employees are paid their rightfully earned wages.”

By law, contractors and subcontractors performing services on prime contracts valued at more than $2,500 must pay service employees in various classes no less than the wage rates and fringe benefits found prevailing in the locality, or the rates, including prospective increases, contained in a predecessor contractor’s collective bargaining agreement.

“We encourage other federal contractors to use this investigation’s outcome as an opportunity to review their pay practices and make certain they are complying with the law and avoiding the potentially costly consequences for violations like those found in this case,” Blaylock said.

Founded in 1969, Leidos Holdings Inc. is a Fortune 500 information technology, engineering and science solutions company, serving clients in the aviation, defense, energy, health, intelligence, government and science industries. Headquartered in Reston, Leidos has 39,000 employees working in 42 states and abroad.

For more information about federal contractor wage laws and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the division’s toll-free helpline confidentially at 866-4-US-WAGE (487-9243). 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. Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for Android and Apple devices, now available in English and Spanish, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

GREENVILLE, MS – The paychecks of 91 nurses and others employed by a Greenville staffing agency now include all the wages they rightfully earned, after an investigation by the U.S. Department Labor stopped the agency from denying them overtime pay.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division investigation found that Prime Care Nursing Inc. paid employees straight-time rates instead of required overtime rates for hours over 40 in a workweek, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The investigation recovered $314,211 in back wages and liquidated damages for the affected workers, including some who worked as many as 84 hours per week.

“Our investigations often find unscrupulous employers depriving workers — who provide vital services to people in need — of their hard-earned wages,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Audrey Hall in Jackson, Mississippi. “When employers violate workers’ rights, they make it harder for them to provide for themselves and their families. The Department of Labor will hold employers accountable when they mistakenly think they can violate these rights.”

Located in Jackson and Greenville, Prime Care Nursing provides nursing care staffing throughout Mississippi serving hospitals, nursing homes, patients in their homes, hospice agencies and rehabilitation centers. Prime Care Nursing workers include registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and caregivers.

As the aging U.S. population grows and demand for health care increases, employment in a variety of healthcare occupations is projected to grow 13 percent from 2021 to 2031 – faster than the average for all occupations – adding about two million jobs.

The Wage and Hour Division provides multiple tools to help employers understand their responsibilities and offers confidential compliance assistance to anyone with questions about how to comply with the law. Workers can call the division confidentially with questions – regardless of where they are from – and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.

For information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or visit the Wage and Hour Division website to find fact sheets on nurses and exemptions under the FLSA and nursing care facilities under the FLSA. Use the division’s search tool if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Download the agency’s new Timesheet App, now available in English and Spanish for Android and iOS devices, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

CONCORD, NH – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has recovered $215,675 in back wages and liquidated damages for 47 employees employed by Miguel Reynosa and Crescencio Reynosa, the operators of two restaurants in Dover and Epping, who denied workers their full wages and permitted four minors to work longer and later than legally permitted.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found Cinco De Mayo Bar & Grill LLC, doing business as Cinco De Mayo Bar & Grill in Dover, and Tellez Brothers LLC, doing business as Cinco’s Cantina in Epping, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime, child labor, and recordkeeping provisions as follows:

• Failing to pay certain employees, such as cooks, dishwashers, and bussers, at time and one-half their regular rates of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.
• Not calculating tipped employees’ overtime properly by basing overtime on their cash wage rates instead of their regular rates of pay.
• Employing four 14- and 15-year-olds to work as late as 10 p.m. and more than 3 hours on school days.
• Failing to maintain complete and accurate records of hours worked and payments made to employees.

“Cinco De Mayo Bar & Grill and Cinco’s Cantina deprived dozens of employees of their rightful pay, making it much harder for these workers to support themselves and their families,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Steven McKinney in Manchester, New Hampshire. “The more than $215,000 in wages and liquidated damages recovered for these workers by the department will go a long way towards making them whole.” 

The department also assessed, and the employer paid, a total of $29,795 in civil money penalties. The willful nature of the overtime violations resulted in $26,631 in penalties, while the child labor violations resulted in $3,164 in penalties.

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 worked over 40 in a workweek.

“We are committed to helping employers understand their responsibilities under federal labor law and urge them to proactively contact our office for compliance assistance,” McKinney added. “The Fair Labor Standards Act allows for developmental experiences but restricts the hours that young employees can work on school days and in the evening to protect their educational opportunities.”

The FLSA prohibits children under the age of 14 from working in most situations and 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 three hours on a school day, eight hours on a non-school day or more than 18 hours per week when school is in session. The law also prohibits children under the age of 18 from operating dangerous equipment, such as power-driven meat slicers and certain types of bakery machines.

The YouthRules! initiative promotes positive and safe work experiences for youth by providing information about protections for young workers. Through this initiative, the U.S. Department of Labor and its partners promote developmental work experiences that help prepare young workers to enter the workforce. The Wage and Hour Division has also published Seven Child Labor Best Practices for Employers to help employers comply with the 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. Employers and workers can call the division confidentially with questions, regardless of where they are from. 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 – free and now available in Spanish – to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

SHREVEPORT, LA – While security workers sometimes face daunting challenges on the job in return for a median national wage of just $15.13 per hour, 58 industry workers are closer to getting wages owed to them by their Shreveport employer thanks to an action brought by the U.S. Department of Labor.

In May 2023, the department obtained a consent judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, Shreveport Division, ordering Sentinel Security Group Inc. to pay $23,841 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to the affected employees.

The court’s action follows a 2021 lawsuit the department filed after the company refused to comply with the findings of the department’s Wage and Hour Division. Investigators determined Sentinel Security Group denied overtime to the affected employees by not combining hours employees worked at more than one location, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime provision.

“Sentinel Security Group deprived 58 workers of their overtime pay by ignoring their responsibilities under federal law,” said Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Betty Campbell in Dallas. “The recovery of back wages and damages will help these employees support themselves and their families.”

The department also filed a separate action in administrative court and obtained consent findings that require the company to pay $7,317 in civil money penalties for Sentinel’s repeat violations.

“Compliance with the law is not optional. Employers cannot repeatedly disregard the law, and the U.S. Department of Labor will take legal action when employers like Sentinel Security Group refuse to pay employees their rightful wages,” explained Regional Solicitor of Labor John Rainwater in Dallas. “This case’s resolution shows employers that there can be costly consequences for defying the laws.”

In fiscal year 2022, the Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $3.9 million for more than 4,600 people employed in guard services after over 600 investigations nationwide.

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). The department can speak with callers confidentially in more than 200 languages, regardless of where they are from.

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 new Timesheet App for Android and iOS devices – free and available in English and Spanish – to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

SAN DIEGO – A federal investigation has recovered more than $169,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for 235 workers employed by a San Diego drywall contractor who illegally denied piece-rate and hourly workers overtime pay.

The recovery follows a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation that found Polvera Drywall Corp. — operating as Great Western Drywall — and two related companies, Empire Insulation and State Insulation, did not pay the affected workers overtime, as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. Specifically, the employer told workers to record that they worked 40 hours per week when, in fact, many worked up to 60 hours per week.

“People working for piece-rate wages are especially vulnerable to wage theft,” said Wage and Hour Division Assistant District Director Emily Eckstein in San Diego. “Employers who wrongly believe they can abuse their employees’ rights to be paid all of their hard-earned wages will find the consequences for violating the law can be costly.”

In addition to the recovery of $84,796 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages, the department assessed the employer $23,701 in civil money penalties for reckless disregard of the law.

Since 1985, Great Western Drywall has served customers in the greater San Diego area. The company specializes in residential light-gauge metal framing and drywall installation for multi-family, hospitality and assisted living projects.

The FLSA requires that most employees in the U.S. be paid overtime at time and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. 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 where they are from. 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 – free and now available in Spanish – to track hours and pay.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that it will offer online compliance seminars in September for contracting agencies, contractors, unions, workers and other stakeholders to provide information on recent updates to regulations governing employment practices for federally funded contracts.

On Aug. 8, 2023, the department’s Wage and Hour Division provided for public review the final rule, “Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations,” following the first comprehensive review of these regulations in nearly 40 years. Enacted in 1931, the DBRA requires that laborers and mechanics be paid prevailing wages and fringe benefits when they’re employed on federally funded contracts worth more than $2,000 for the construction, alteration or repair of public buildings and other public works.

These seminars will provide participants with an overview of recent DBRA changes and offer them an opportunity to ask for more information or to clarify their concerns. The seminars are part of the division’s ongoing effort to raise awareness of federal prevailing wage requirements among federal contractors and subcontractors and promote compliance.

“Prevailing wage laws ensure that people employed on federally funded construction projects across the nation are paid fair wages and benefits,” explained Principal Deputy Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “With the historic investments being made in our nation’s infrastructure, these online Wage and Hour Division seminars will provide employers and others with information about compliance with regulations governing federal contracts.”

The seminars will begin at 1 p.m. EDT on Sept. 13 and 14, 2023. Attendance is free, but registration is required.

Updates in the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts final rule include the following:

• Returning to the definition of “prevailing wage” used from 1935 to 1983 to address the overuse of average rates, and ensure they better reflect actual wages paid to workers in local communities.
• Periodically updating certain non-collectively bargained and out-of-date prevailing wage rates.
• Recognizing the division’s broad authority to adopt state or local wage determinations as the federal prevailing wage where certain criteria are satisfied.
• Allowing wage determinations to include supplemental rates for key classifications when insufficient survey data exists to publish prevailing wage rates.
• Modernizing and clarifying the definitions of “building or work” and “site of the work.”
• Ensuring that DBRA labor standards’ requirements protect workers by operation of law.
• Strengthening enforcement, including debarment and new anti-retaliation provisions.

For more information on the Davis-Bacon Act, the Service Contract Act and other federal wage laws related to government contracts administered by the Wage and Hour Division, please call the division’s toll-free helpline at 1-866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division. 

NEW YORK – KDE Equine LLC — doing business as Steve Asmussen Stables — has entered into a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor to reimburse its grooms and hot walkers $129,776 to resolve violations of the federal H-2B worker program which permits businesses to employ temporary visa workers.

This is the fourth time in recent years that Asmussen Stables has been ordered to make payments to workers  after a Wage and Hour Division investigation, most recently having been ordered to pay more than $500,000 in back wages and damages. The investigation in this latest case found the employer violated numerous commitments that it made during the H-2B visa application process to employ workers in New York. The violations occurred between December 2016 and December 2019.

Specifically, the division determined the employer’s violations included the following:

• Failing to pay workers for costs they incurred during travel to and from the U.S. at the beginning and end of the racing season, including visa fees.
• Seeking and obtaining kickbacks from workers, supposedly to cover Asmussen Stables’ attorney fees.
• Employing workers outside of New York, contrary to statements made to the government.
• Overstating the number of H-2B workers needed by the employer.
• Not disclosing material terms of the position to potential U.S. job applicants, such as that free housing may be available onsite.

“H-2B workers too often find themselves vulnerable to wage shortages and other violations of their rights,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director David An in Westbury, New York. “Employers like Steve Asmussen Stables who employ H-2B workers must comply with the law or face sanctions, including fines and potentially being barred from the program.”

In addition to the wage recovery, the department assessed Asmussen Stables a total of $75,223 in civil money penalties for its violations. To obtain the employer’s future compliance with H-2B regulations, the settlement includes enhanced compliance measures, including hiring of an independent monitor by KDE to conduct regular audits, providing workers with updated training in languages they understand, forbidding certain managers from being involved in the H-2B program and allowing the division to provide training to Asmussen Stables’ H-2B workers regarding their rights.

“The U.S. Department of Labor will pursue all necessary legal avenues to obtain proper compensation for employees and prevent future violations by employers. This settlement reimburses these underpaid workers, requires Asmussen Stables to pay penalties and seeks to change this employer’s behavior and prevent future violations by providing an independent monitor to perform regular audits,” explained regional Solicitor of Labor Jeffrey S. Rogoff in New York.

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

The division’s Long Island District Office conducted the investigation. Department of Labor Senior Trial Attorney Jacob Heyman-Kantor litigated the case for the division before the Office of Administrative Law Judges. View the consent findings and the order approving the findings.

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 where they are from. 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 – free and now available in Spanish – to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

Administrator, Wage and Hour Division, US Department of Labor v. KDE Equine, LLC d/b/a Steve Asmussen Stables

Case No. 2022-TNE-00003

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QUAKERTOWN, PA – A federal court in Pennsylvania has found the general manager of a Quakertown Hampton Inn in civil contempt for violating a February 2023 consent judgment. The contempt order requires the employer to pay $8,750 in back wages, an equal amount in liquidated damages and $500 in interest to affected hotel workers, as well as $2,000 to reimburse the department’s investigative and attorney’s fees.

The action follows an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division that found Ramket Enterprises paid straight-time wages for all hours worked and failed to keep time records, as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

In response to a Jan. 24, 2023, complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by the department’s Office of the Solicitor, the court entered a consent judgment on Feb. 1, 2023, and the court ordered Ramket Enterprises and Ketan Joshi to pay $15,137 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 21 employees. They also paid $18,092 in civil money penalties assessed by the division for the willful nature of their violations. The judgment also forbids the employers from future FLSA violations.

After learning that Joshi texted the spouse of an employee due back wages and damages and demanded they repay part of the awarded money, the department filed a motion for civil contempt on April 25, 2023. On June 13, 2023, the court found the employers in contempt and required them to pay the additional back wages, liquidated damages, interest, and fees incurred by the department.

“Our investigation found Ramket Enterprises Inc. and general manager Ketan Joshi violated the terms of an earlier consent judgment and then shockingly demanded an employee kick back their rightfully earned wages. Federal law prohibits wage theft, retaliation or intimidation against workers engaging in a protected activity,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director James Cain in Philadelphia.

In addition to paying wages, damages, interest and fees, the court required the employers to post a notice to inform employees that the employers may not seek or accept repayment of any amounts paid under the judgment. Additionally, a division investigator must read a statement in Spanish to all employees that explains the employees’ rights to be free from retaliation and their right to keep the back wages, liquidated damages, and interest awarded to them by the court and distributed by the division.

“The U.S. Department of Labor will not stand by and allow employers to ignore or override their legal obligations. The department will use every tool available, including litigation, to prevent employers from violating workers’ rights,” said Deputy Regional Solicitor of Labor Samantha Thomas in Philadelphia.

The division’s Philadelphia District Office conducted the investigation. Senior Trial Attorney Andrea Luby with the department’s Office of the Solicitor in Philadelphia litigated the case.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including regulations prohibiting retaliation and 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 where they are from. 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, now available in English and Spanish for Android and iOS devices, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

Julie Su, Acting Secretary of Labor, U.S. Department of Labor v. Ramket Enterprises, Inc., dba Hampton Inn, and Ketan Joshi

Civil Action No. 2:23-cv-0286-GAM

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EL PASO, TX – An El Paso home healthcare and hospice service provider expected employees to work long days to care for people in need but failed to pay 133 of its employees the overtime wages they earned, the U.S. Department of Labor has found.

The investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division led to the recovery of $501,211 in overtime and liquidated damages from San Lorenzo Adult Provider and Pediatrics for the affected workers.

The division determined the employer paid the affected employers straight time for all hours worked instead of paying time and one-half the regular rate-of-pay for hours over 40 in a workweek.

“San Lorenzo Adult Provider and Pediatrics’ failure to understand the law and calculate overtime properly had costly consequences,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Evelyn Ortiz in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “An employer’s pay practices must comply with federal laws that protect workers’ rights to their full wages, including their right to be paid time and one-half their regular rate for hours over 40 per workweek.”

San Lorenzo Adult Provider and Pediatrics in El Paso specializes in providing residential care for adults that includes bathing, cleaning, cooking and other companion services.

The Wage and Hour Division enforces laws governing pay practices and other labor standards, including the Fair Labor Standards Act, and determines if employers have misclassified employees as independent contractors and denied them critical benefits and worker protections.

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. The division protects workers regardless of immigration status and can communicate with workers in more than 200 languages.

Download the agency’s new Timesheet App, which is available in English and Spanish for Android and Apple devices, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.         

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FORT WAYNE, IN – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment in federal court as part of its recovery of $188,915 in  overtime back wages and liquidated damages for 83 employees denied overtime pay by a Fort Wayne home care provider.

On July 27, 2023, U.S. District Court Judge Holly A. Brady in the Northern District of Indiana in Fort Wayne ordered UniqueHab Solutions LLC and its operators, John Musili and Tony Aduro, to pay the wages and damages owed to the affected employees. The workers provide supported living services to individuals with physical and developmental disabilities at the company’s branch offices in Fishers and Clear Vista.

The company will also pay $70,000 in civil money penalties after investigators found allegations the employer asked employees to sign a waiver of rights to overtime, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. UniqueHab Solutions must pay 5.33 percent post-judgment interest on the back wages and liquidated damages.

“Home care employees work long hours assisting clients with daily living tasks that let them keep their dignity and live at home, yet too often we find industry employers violating overtime rules and denying these care workers their rightful wages,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Aaron Loomis in Indianapolis. “The Department of Labor will fight for justice for workers denied their hard-earned wages.”

In addition to requiring payment of wages and damages, the judgment forbids the employers from future FLSA violations, such as those found by the department’s Wage and Hour Division. These included UniqueHab’s failure to pay employees overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek and to keep accurate records of employees’ work schedules. The division reviewed the company’s employment practices from May 2019 to May 2021.

The court’s action comes after UniqueHab Solutions LLC refused to resolve the matter administratively, which led the department to file its complaint in federal court in June of 2022.

Founded in 2013, UniqueHab Solutions provides non-medical home care services for individuals with physical and developmental disabilities. These services include residential habilitation support services, respite services to relieve caregivers, healthcare coordination including management of medications, side effects, doctor visits and adaptive equipment, and transportation to appointments, social activities and gatherings.

In May 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 801,000 healthcare and social assistance workers left their positions and the field had more than 1.7 million openings. As the aging U.S. population grows and demand for home healthcare services increases, employment in a variety of healthcare occupations is projected to grow 13 percent from 2021 to 2031 – faster than the average for all occupations – adding about 2 million new jobs.

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 call the division confidentially with questions, regardless of where they are from. 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. Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for Android and iOS devices – free and available in English and Spanish – to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

Walsh v. Uniquehab Solutions LLC, John Musili, Tony Aduro

U.S. District Court, District of Indiana, Fort Wayne Division

Civil Action No: 1:22-cv-00189-HAB-SLC