WEST COVINA, CA – A federal court has entered default judgments that require the operators of La Puente poultry processing plant to pay more than $1 million after the U.S. Department of Labor found the employers deliberately denied overtime wages earned by 113 workers and tried to hide the wage theft.

In addition to withholding overtime, the employers told some workers to forge timesheets and threatened them if they cooperated with federal investigators. They also created shell companies, hoping to hide overtime violations over a five-year period from 2015 to 2020. 

The Aug. 30, 2023, action by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ends the department’s long-running litigation against TL Foods Inc. and its owner Lily ‘Mei’ Tseng, Express Poultry Services Inc. and its owner Jimmy Huynh, and joint employers Aiwa Tang-Ton, Kevin Truong and KP Poultry Inc. for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

The judgments require Tseng and TL Foods Inc. to pay more than $1 million in back wages and damages and Huynh and Express Poultry Services Inc. to pay $210,438 in back wages and damages to the affected workers. The court also forbids the employers from future FLSA violations.

 Co-defendants and joint employers Tang-Ton, Truong and KP Poultry Inc. entered into consent judgments with the department previously and agreed to pay $531,518 in back wages, liquidated damages and interest to affected workers, and $20,000 in civil money penalties.

“For years, the employers in this case attempted to hide their wage violations. The Solicitor’s Office is grateful for the courage and integrity of the workers who came forward despite the retaliation and intimidation they faced,” said Regional Solicitor Marc Pilotin in San Francisco. “We will continue to use every legal tool available and necessary to protect the rights of vulnerable workers under federal law.”

In total, the department obtained four judgments to recover more than $1.2 million in back wages, damages and interest to the affected workers. 

“Poultry processing workers often spend long hours doing physically demanding work that helps to feed our communities and yet they are among the most vulnerable to exploitation and retaliation,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Daniel Pasquil in West Covina, California. “The Wage and Hour Division has always focused on helping vulnerable workers, and this case sends a signal to industry employers that we will not tolerate their failure to respect the dignity of workers and meet their legal responsibilities.”

The division’s West Covina District Office conducted the investigation and the department’s Office of the Solicitor in San Francisco filed the complaint and secured the consent judgments.

The department is seeking any current or former employees of TL Foods, Express Poultry Services or KP Poultry who believe they may be owed back wages by these employers. Contact the West Covina District Office at (626) 966-0478 or visit the division’s Workers Owed Wages website to search a database of workers for whom the division has money waiting to be claimed.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division. Workers can call the division confidentially with questions or concerns – regardless of where they are from – and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. 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. 

ORLANDO, FL – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has recovered $120,695 in back wages for 24 employees after an Orlando franchisee of a Chicago-based pizza franchise denied the workers overtime wages and paid servers only in tips. 

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found Sand Lake Pizzeria LLC, operator of a Giordano’s Pizza franchise location, did not pay servers a time-and-one-half rate for all hours over 40 in a workweek and made servers work for only tips with no cash wage, both violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The employer also failed to keep complete time and payroll records, another FLSA violation. 

“The operator of this Giordano’s franchise deprived employees of their rightful pay, making it much harder for them to support themselves,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Wildalí De Jesús in Orlando, Florida. “We can’t give them time back, but the $120,695 in wages the department recovered for these workers will go a long way toward making them whole.” 

The FLSA requires that most employees in the U.S. be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 for all hours worked – and in Florida the minimum cash wage for tipped workers is currently $7.98 – and overtime pay at not less than time and one-half the regular rate of pay for all hours over 40 in a workweek.

During the investigation, the employer told the division they contracted a third-party service provider to manage payroll functions and claimed the provider did not raise concerns about the employer’s pay practices.

“Often employers use payroll services for their businesses, but when that’s the case, employers are ultimately responsible for making certain workers are getting paid correctly,” De Jesús added. “The Wage and Hour Division encourages all employers to use the free, online tools we offer to help them comply with the law or to call us for assistance.” 

Founded in Chicago in 1974, Giordano’s is a franchise network of restaurants featuring pizza at 64 locations operating in nine states, including Florida.

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). Also, download the agency’s new Timesheet App for Apple and Android phones – free and now available in Spanish – to track hours and pay.

Read this news release En Español. 

Employers:    Reliance Staffing LLC; Fahim Uddin, owner

Actions:          Fair Labor Standards Act complaint filing

Courts:           U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan 

Investigation findings: On Sept. 22, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor filed a complaint in federal court alleging Reliance Staffing LLC and its owner, Fahim Uddin, failed to pay healthcare professionals overtime earned while working at skilled nursing facilities. 

An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division alleged that Uddin and Reliance Staffing misclassified their workers as independent contractors when, in fact, they were employees. By doing so, the employer failed to pay $90,765 in overtime wages to 70 registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and certified nursing assistants. The FLSA requires employees to be paid time and one-half their hourly rate of pay for hours over 40 in a pay period. The Bingham Farms, Michigan, company recruits and employs registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and certified nursing assistants. 

The complaint seeks a total of $181,531 for the workers representing the back wages owed and an equal amount in liquidated damages. The department also asked the court to issue an injunction forbidding Uddin and Reliance Staffing from future FLSA violations. 

The department’s Office of the Solicitor filed a complaint on Sept. 22, 2023. 

Quote: “Independent contractors control their own work and are not economically dependent on one company for their livelihood. In this case, Reliance Staffing clearly created schedules, assigned work tasks, set rules for the registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and certified nursing assistants, who performed work that was critical for their employer’s business. These factors, among others, make them employees,” explained Wage and Hour Midwest Deputy Regional Administrator Timolin Mitchell in Detroit. “Workers misclassified as independent contractors are denied their protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act and employers do not pay applicable employment taxes or workers’ compensation on their behalf. Employers must know the wage laws that apply to their employees and pay them accordingly.” 

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.

United States Department of Labor v. Reliance Staffing LLC, Fahim Uddin, owner

Case number 1:23-CV-12412

Employer name:       Sunrise Residential Care Services LLC

Employer address:    8801 Bricelyn St., Pittsburgh, PA 15221

Investigative Findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found the employer misclassified two workers as independent contractors and failed to pay them an overtime premium for hours over 40 in a workweek. The employer also did not maintain daily and weekly hours worked records for the misclassified workers or identify accurate rates of pay on the payroll records.

Back wages recovered:         $49,310

Liquidated damages:            $49,310

Workers affected:                   Two

Quote: “Failing to properly classify workers as employees and not independent contractors denies them from receiving all of their hard-earned wages, benefits, and protections under federal law,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director John DuMont in Pittsburgh. “We can assist employers and workers in determining if a worker should be classified as an independent contractor or as an employee.”

Background: Sunrise Residential Care Services LLC provides unskilled health care services for individuals with dementia and disabilities and operates 10 residences in the greater Pittsburgh area.

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 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 i-OS and Android devices – also available in Spanish – to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

Employer:    J&K Repair Services LLC

                        6680 Turtle Hill Road

 Las Vegas, NV 89110 

Investigation findings: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found the air-conditioning and plumbing repair company in Las Vegas intentionally denied workers their full pay by illegally paying them straight-time rates for overtime hours worked, a Fair Labor Standards Act violation.

Investigators determined that J&K Repair Services knew the legal overtime requirements because the company paid workers their earned overtime sometimes but deprived others of their overtime premium.

Back Wages Recovered:  $60,444 in unpaid overtime wages for 60 employees

   $60,444 in damages for 60 employees

                                                 $30,000 in civil money penalties

Quote: “Plumbing and HVAC industry employers must respect their employees’ rights to be paid as fully as the law requires regardless of if they are paid hourly, piece rate or per job,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Higinio Ramos in Las Vegas. “The Department of Labor will hold those employers accountable when we determine they failed to fulfill their legal responsibilities.”

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 can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions – regardless of their immigration status – and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.

SAN ANTONIO – A federal investigation of a San Antonio-based company has recovered more than $1.1 million in back wages for 238 employees whose employer failed to make payroll on two occasions on Dec. 26, 2022, and Jan. 8, 2023.

 The recovery follows a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation of Water Energy Services LLC, which provides water reclamation services for the energy industry, that determined the missed payrolls caused minimum wage and overtime violations.

 “Workers in the oil and gas industry make essential contributions to our region’s economy and its ability to grow,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Cynthia Ramos in San Antonio, Texas. “Federal law requires that employees are paid all their rightfully earned wages and benefits. Our investigation has helped us recover wages owed to Water Energy Services’ employees for their hard work.” 

Water Energy Services provides water management solutions for the energy industry using technology and other services to manage water usage, treatment and recycling in energy operations. The company has operations throughout Texas and in New Mexico.

 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 call the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from. Calls are confidential and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. 

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

Lea en Español

Employers:    

Hill Plumbing & Electric Co. Inc., operating as Hill Plumbing & Air, 438 North Main St., Sumter, SC 29150

Love Plumbing Electrical and Air LLC, 1336 Methodist Park Road, West Columbia, SC 29170

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor investigators found two South Carolina plumbing companies failed to pay some employees the applicable overtime rates owed to them for hours over 40 in a workweek, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Specifically, investigators found the following:

• Hill Plumbing & Air failed to include pre- and post-shift hours worked, on-call pay and non-discretionary incentive bonuses in the regular rate for overtime purposes.
• Love Plumbing and Air failed to include commissions in the regular rate when computing the half-time premium due in overtime workweeks. 

Back wages recovered:                     

Hill Plumbing & Air: $59,111 for 25 workers

Love Plumbing and Air: $2,323 for 10 employees

Liquidated damages recovered:       $59,111 with Hill Plumbing & Air

Quote: “The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to making sure all workers are paid every dollar they earned,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jamie Benefiel in Columbia, South Carolina. “Several recent investigations have found violations in the residential construction industry. We encourage employers to contact the Wage and Hour Division with questions to ensure they are in legal compliance. The alternative, paying back wages after the fact, can be a costly lesson.”

Background: Employers and workers alike can contact the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE – 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 fact sheet on Fair Labor Standards Act wage laws overtime requirements. Workers and employers can help track hours worked and pay by downloading the department’s Android or Apple device timesheet app for free, which is available in English and Spanish. 

Employers:    Sparty Tacos LLC

                        TC Tacos LLC

                        GR Tacos LLC, operating as Barrio Tacos

                        Owner Jacob Hawley

Actions:          Fair Labor Standards Act complaint filing

Courts:           U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Southern Division    

Investigation findings: On Sept. 7, 2023, the department filed suit seeking a total of $823,324 – $411,662 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages – for 177 employees of Sparty Tacos in East Lansing, TC Tacos LLC in Traverse City and GR Tacos LLC in Grand Rapids, all of which operate as Barrio Tacos. The complaint follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division involving alleged FLSA violations by the three restaurants and their owner Jacob Hawley.

Specifically, investigators found the employer:

• Required tipped workers to surrender a portion of their cash and credit card tips to managers after each shift. Managers then redistributed these tips to non-tipped employees, including kitchen staff.
• Failed to pay tipped employees the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. 
• Incorrectly paid tipped employees overtime based on the tip credit rate instead of the applicable minimum wage rate. 
• Failed to keep accurate records of employees’ hourly rates of pay and overtime premiums due.

The division also assessed Hawley and his three restaurants $23,904 in civil money penalties for the violations.

Quote: “Far too often, our investigators find restaurant industry employers violating the law when they fail to follow applicable wage laws for their employees. There are specific rules for paying tipped employees, for how tips must be distributed, for paying proper overtime and for keeping employment records,” explained Wage and Hour District Director Mary O’Rourke in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “Workers have the right to be paid fairly and fully for the jobs they do and employers must respect these rights.”

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. 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.

United States Department of Labor v. Sparty Tacos LLC, TC Tacos LLC, GR Tacos LLC, dba Barrio Tacos, Jacob Hawley

Case number 1:23-cv-948

PHOENIX – The U.S. Department of Labor is asking employers in Arizona’s heavy and highway construction industries to participate in a survey to help the department’s Wage and Hour Division establish prevailing wage rates for construction workers employed on federally funded and federally assisted projects.

The Davis-Bacon Act and Related Acts 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 all heavy and highway construction projects in Arizona that occurred between Oct. 1, 2022, and Dec. 29, 2023. This is a statewide survey and is not limited to federally funded construction projects. The division will begin collecting data on Sept. 15, 2023, and conclude the survey on Jan. 15, 2024. 

The division encourages all stakeholders to participate in the survey. Participation in the survey process is critical to the publication of prevailing wage and fringe benefits that accurately reflect the rates paid. Complete determinations can reduce the need for contractors to request additional labor classifications. 

Letters will be sent to interested parties and contractors known to the division and will include directions on how to complete the survey. Employers are encouraged to  and to do so by Jan. 15, 2024. The Wage and Hour Division has improved the online data collection form. This new version is available for this survey. Those seeking to submit their information by mail should call (866) 236-2773 and request a form be mailed. All contractors and other interested parties are encouraged to participate and need not receive a letter to do so. Learn more about the surveys. 

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.  

The division will offer online briefings about the surveys and instructions for completing the survey on Sept. 26 and 28, as well as Oct. 17 and 19, 2023. Register to attend an upcoming briefing. 

HIXSON, TN – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has led to the recovery of $17,006 for five workers of a Hixson restaurant that failed to pay them their correct overtime wages. 

Investigators from the Wage and Hour Division found that El Fogòn Inc., operator of El Fogòn Mexican Restaurant, calculated overtime rates using an incorrect rate for tipped employees. By doing so, the employer paid overtime at rates lower than required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

In addition, the division learned the employer did not have accurate records of hours worked for employees, denied overtime pay to employees whose hours were unrecorded and others not on the payroll.

“Employers who fail to pay full legal wages to their employees gain an unfair advantage over their law-abiding competitors,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Lisa Kelly in Nashville, Tennessee. “Our investigation into El Fogòn’s pay practices has recovered an average of $3,400 per employee, a meaningful amount of money for workers who rely mostly on tips to make ends meet.”

Agency investigators received information about the employer’s pay practices through the Employment, Education, and Outreach alliance. The alliance is a collaboration of community organizations, state, local and federal agencies and Hispanic consulates that provides information and assistance to Spanish-speaking employees and employers regarding workplace rights and responsibilities. Its toll-free hotline is answered in Spanish and connects callers with an organization, consulate, state or federal agency to address their labor-related concern or question.

“Our EMPLEO alliance helps to reach workers who may be unaware of their legal rights as employees or fearful about raising their concerns,” Kelly added. “The Wage and Hour Division offers resources to employers and employees in many languages to help them understand their responsibilities and rights under the law.”

Employees and employers can also contact the Wage and Hour Division at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE (487-9243) or the EMPLEO hotline by calling (877) 522-9832 or (877) 55-AYUDA. 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, in English and Spanish, 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 iPhone Timesheet App – now available in Spanish – for free.

Read this news release En Español.