Employer:                             Happy China Buffet Inc.

                                               2515 Sunset Blvd.

                                               West Columbia, SC 29169

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found the buffet restaurant operator kept a portion of servers’ and hibachi chefs’ tips, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Happy China Buffet also paid some kitchen workers a fixed monthly salary that fell below the federal minimum wage for all hours worked. By doing so, the amount paid did not qualify as a bona-fide salary, which led the employer to owe overtime premiums to the workers. In addition, the employer failed to maintain time and pay records. 

Back wages recovered: The division recovered $251,594 in back wages for 27 workers.                                               

Quote: “Tips belong in the hands of the employees who earned them. Employers who deny tipped workers their full earnings often face severe consequences when tip credits are invalidated,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jamie Benefiel in Columbia, South Carolina. “Employers and 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.”

Background: Employers can contact the Wage and Hour Division at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE. Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including its search tool to learn if you are owed back wages collected by the division 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.

DETROIT – The operator of 20 Detroit-area restaurants has paid $88,020 in back wages and damages to 127 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found the employer denied workers at 13 locations their full wages and allowed a minor-aged employee to work longer and later than legally permitted.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined the Joe Vicari Restaurant Group violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and overtime provisions when they paid:

• Direct cash wages to non-tipped employees that were less than the required minimum wage.
• An overtime rate to tipped employees based upon their cash wage rather than minimum wage, which led to overtime violations.
• Straight-time rates in cash for kitchen employees who worked overtime hours.

The division also learned the employer did the following:

• Failed to keep accurate pay records for employees paid in cash.
• Allowed one 15-year-old to work past 9 p.m. and more than 8 hours in a day in violation of child labor hours standards.
• Deducted the cost of required uniforms from tipped employees, resulting in minimum wage violations.

The department assessed $791 in penalties for the child labor violations.

“A restaurant group in business for more than a few decades must be well aware of the laws protecting the wages of tipped and hourly employees,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Timolin Mitchell in Detroit. “Violations like these are all too common in the food service industry. Employers are legally obligated to comply with federal law and make certain their managers are also well-versed in federal laws governing their employees.”

The department’s Quick Service Restaurants Compliance Assistance Toolkit explains wage laws for the industry.

“Learning new skills in the workforce is an important part of growing up – but we must protect children and ensure their first jobs do not interfere with their education or well-being,” Mitchell added. “The Fair Labor Standards Act allows for developmental experiences but restricts the hours and duties of young workers and provides for penalties when employers do not follow the law.”

Headquartered in Warren and operating in the Detroit metro area for more than 40 years, the Joe Vicari Restaurant Group includes Andiamo, Andiamo Bistro, Andiamo Italian Steakhouse, Birmingham Pub, Bronze Door, Country Inn, Joe Muer Seafood, The Statler, Vito’s Italian Bakery and 2941 Mediterranean Street Food.

The YouthRules! initiative promotes positive and safe work experiences for teens by providing information about protections for young workers to youth, parents, employers and educators. Through this initiative, the U.S. Department of Labor and its partners promote positive and safe 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 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. The department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.

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

ATLANTA – In what may be the largest misclassification case in its history, the U.S. Department of Labor has asked a federal court to force a Florida-based customer service provider for major national brands, including Barnes & Noble, Comcast, Disney and Walgreens, to pay back wages and liquidated damages to more than 22,000 workers after investigators found the employer misclassified employees as independent contractors and denied them their legally required minimum wage and overtime pay.

Today’s filing in the Southern District of Florida in Fort Lauderdale follows an investigation of Miramar-based Arise Virtual Solutions Inc. by the department’s Wage and Hour Division.

The division found the employer often recruited workers with promises they would “be their own bosses” and that they could generate income by providing customer support services to Fortune 500 clients. In fact, investigators determined customer support workers had no real autonomy, were subject to the company’s stringent work scheduling policy, and had to buy their equipment before providing Arise’s clients with service and generating income.

“Our filing seeks to recover back wages and liquidated damages for more than 22,000 employees of Arise Virtual Solutions Inc. based on our finding that the company misclassified these workers as independent contractors,” explained Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. “Misclassification is a serious concern that harms many U.S. workers who are denied their full rights, protections and benefits under federal law.”

The department’s complaint alleges that by misclassifying the workers, Arise Virtual Solutions Inc. violated the Fair Labor Standards Act, which requires pay at or above the federal minimum wage and overtime rates of time-and-one-half for hours over 40 in a workweek. The employer also did not keep accurate time and pay records, in violation of the FLSA.

The Office of the Solicitor’s lawsuit seeks full restitution of these wages.

The department’s investigation also revealed that Arise did the following:

• Expected workers to pay for their mandatory training while attending courses offered through the company’s proprietary software.
• Failed to pay workers for attendance at what often amounted to multiple weeks of required training.
• Required workers to create their own corporations or limited liability companies, or join existing business entities, to support the company’s attempts to claim these workers were independent contractors.
• Required workers to sign an arbitration agreement waiving their ability to seek restitution for alleged FLSA violations in court.

The division received several complaints of alleged wage violations from former workers at Arise, which is also involved in litigation involving similar allegations brought by the District of Columbia for alleged violations of the district’s labor laws.

Incorporated in Delaware, Arise Virtual Solutions Inc. provides outsourced contact center services, support and consulting and operates in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom. It serves the e-commerce, retail, healthcare, travel and hospitality, telecommunications, technology, energy and utilities, insurance, banking and financial services, and fitness and wellness industries.

Learn more about Wage and Hour Division.

Employer:  Ard Trucking Co. Inc.

                    4190 Alligator Road, Timmonsville, SC 29161

Investigation Findings: Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that a South Carolina trucking company paid 11 employees straight-time rates for all hours worked, including overtime hours. By doing so, the employer failed to pay the required time-and-a-half overtime premium for hours over 40  in a workweek, a Fair Labor Standards Act violation. Ard Trucking also required one employee to pay for uniforms when they resigned from the company, causing the worker’s average hourly pay rate to drop below the federal minimum wage. In addition, the employer failed to maintain a record of work hours for some employees, an FLSA recordkeeping violation.

Back Wages and Liquidated Damages:        

$25,693 in back overtime wages

$25,693 in liquidated damages                                               

Quote: “Not paying workers their full and legally earned wages is unethical and illegal. Employers have a legal obligation to pay employees for all hours they worked,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jamie Benefiel in Columbia, South Carolina. “Employers must follow these standards and make sure their employees take home every cent they’ve earned. An employer’s failure to comply with the law can have costly consequences.”

Background: In most cases, the FLSA requires employers to pay U.S. employees 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. See how this investigation impacted one worker’s life.

Employers and workers can call the division confidentially with questions. The department will assist workers, regardless of their immigration status, and staff can speak with callers in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Keep track of hours and wages with the Wage and Hour’s new Timesheet App for Apple and android devices, available in English and Spanish.

INDIANOLA, MS – In the summer of 2022, U.S. Department of Labor leaders heard from a group of Black farmworkers in the Mississippi Delta about allegations of abuse and exploitation of Black farmworkers in some of the nation’s poorest counties, including egregious violations of their workplace rights.

Today, the department’s Wage and Hour Division announced that, to date, it has conducted investigations and identified violations by 44 employers and recovered $505,540 in back wages for 161 workers. Employers also paid an additional $341,838 in civil money penalties.

The division’s completed investigations found employers, in violation of program requirements when they did the following:

• Showed preferential treatment towards temporary H-2A agricultural workers and failed to pay the required rate of pay to U.S. workers in corresponding employment.
• Did not disclose all conditions of employment.
• Failed to provide accurate anticipated hours of work and bonus opportunities.
• Made illegal pay deductions.
• Did not reimburse travel-related expenses as required.
• Failed to comply with federal recordkeeping requirements.

“The outcome of these investigations confirms that employers in the Mississippi Delta denied a large number of marginalized farmworkers their lawful wages, and in some cases, violated the rights of U.S. workers by giving temporary guest workers preferential treatment,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Audrey Hall in Jackson, Mississippi. “Though we were alarmed by the allegations from Black farmworkers in the Mississippi Delta, we applaud them for their willingness to come forward and shed light on these widespread violations. The courage they showed has helped workers across the Delta finally receive their long overdue wages.”

In addition to its enforcement efforts, the division conducted multiple outreach events for the Mississippi Delta Council, an area economic development organization representing 19 Delta and part-Delta counties of Northwest Mississippi. These events provided local agricultural, business and professional leaders with opportunities to work together to enhance compliance throughout the region.

“The Wage and Hour Division protects the rights of workers of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized and faced with persistent poverty and inequality,” said Regional Administrator Juan Coria in Atlanta. “Collaboration with trusted partners, like the Mississippi Center for Justice, is critical to protecting these workers’ rights. The center provided important help in our efforts to protect the rights of workers whose employers denied them their full wages and protections.”

Currently, Southeast employers host the largest number of H-2A workers in the nation. In addition to the Wage and Hour Division, the expanded agriculture enforcement in the Delta region brought together federal experts from the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Employment and Training Administration and Office of the Solicitor; as well as with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and regional stakeholders, such as the Mississippi Center for Justice and the NAACP.

For more information about workers’ rights enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact its toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Workers can call the division confidentially with questions and the division 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 iOS and Android devices – free and now available in Spanish – to track hours and pay.

BOSTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $771,022 in back wages and $61,215 in liquidated damages for 47 workers of a Haverhill landscaping company after the employer failed to comply with requirements of the federal H-2B worker program and the Fair Labor Standards Act. The H-2B Worker Program permits businesses to employ temporary visa workers for limited periods of time.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined Triad Associates Inc. did not pay certain H-2B workers the proper overtime rate for all hours over 40 hours in a workweek, a Fair Labor Standards Act violation. They also found Triad Associates failed to keep accurate records for the hours that salaried non-exempt employees worked. The division recovered $61,215 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages owed to six workers to resolve the FLSA violations. The investigation also identified violations of related H-2B provisions in the Immigration and Nationality Act. Specifically, the division found Triad Associates illegally:

• Failed to comply with the prohibition against preferential treatment, which resulted in the division recovering $138,763 in back wages for 13 workers.
• Paid less than the offered wage rate to masons and pavers. The division recovered $503,704 in back wages owed to 47 workers.
• Placed workers in an unapproved job classification and made impermissible deductions from workers’ wages.
• Failed to pay H-2B workers’ inbound travel, outbound travel, and subsistence costs.
• Failed to fulfill required recruitment activities, including contacting former U.S. employees when attempting to fill vacancies.
• Did not retain required documents.

In addition to recovering back wages, the division assessed Triad Associates with civil money penalties of $5,694 under the FLSA and $117,949 under the H-2B program, which the company has paid.

“H-2B program workers are often vulnerable to wage shortages and other violations of their rights,” explained Wage and Hour District Director Carlos Matos in Boston. “Employers who employ H-2B program workers must comply with the law, or face potentially being barred from the program for not following certain of the rules.”

To ensure future compliance with H-2B regulations, Triad entered into a settlement agreement with enhanced compliance provisions, which requires them to hire a compliance monitor who must be approved by the Wage and Hour Division. The monitor will provide reports to the division, including an assessment of whether Triad is complying with applicable law.

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 temporary in nature and be for a limited specific period, such as a one-time occurrence, seasonal, peak load, or intermittent need.

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.

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Employer:                                  Drevo Inc.

                                                    55 Brooklyn Lane

                                                    Palm Coast, FL 32137

Investigation Findings: Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that a Florida commercial carpentry and millwork contractor paid 19 employees straight-time rates for all hours worked, including overtime hours. By doing so, the employer failed to pay the required time-and-a-half overtime premium for hours over 40 hours in a workweek, a Fair Labor Standards Act violation.

Back Wages and Liquidated Damages:         $24,388 in back overtime wages

                                                                           $24,388 in liquidated damages                             

Quote: “Workers deserve to be paid all the wages they earn. Employers who fail to pay workers what the law requires may owe back wages, plus liquidated damages and even civil money penalties. Taken as a whole, these can quickly add up to a costly lesson,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Wildalí De Jesús in Orlando, Florida. “We encourage other employers to use this investigation’s outcome as an opportunity to review their pay practices to avoid similar violations.”

Background: 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. 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 the division confidentially with questions and review our compliance assistance toolkit for the construction industry. The department will assist workers, regardless of their immigration status, and staff can speak with callers confidentially in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Keep track of hours and pay with the agency’s new Timesheet App for Apple and android devices, available in English and Spanish.

SCHAUMBURG, IL – An administrative law judge has ordered a Schaumburg residential and commercial swimming pool company to pay $312,561 in back wages to 26 workers, employed under a federal guest worker visa program, after the U.S. Department of Labor found the employer failed to comply with the H-2B guest worker visa program.

On June 20, 2023, Judge Theodore Annos in Washington D.C. upheld the findings of an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that Lucero Pool Plaster Inc. violated the H-2B guest worker visa program by failing to pay its H-2B workers for all hours they worked plastering pools in Illinois, Indiana. Iowa and Wisconsin in 2016 and 2017. The employer’s failure to comply with the H-2B guest worker visa program regulations violated the Immigration and Nationality Act.

The judge also affirmed the division’s assessment of $123,814 in penalties for its violations and forbid the company from participating in the H-2B program for a year.

“The court has upheld the Wage and Hour Division’s finding that Lucero Pool Paster Inc. owes these 26 plasterers back wages for failing to pay them their legally required wages,” said Wage and Hour Regional Administrator Michael Lazzeri in Chicago. “Companies participating in non-immigrant visa programs agree to specific terms and conditions, but this employer shamelessly paid these H-2B workers less than the full hourly wages promised when they accepted the work.”

Specifically, division investigators discovered Lucero Pool Plaster violated the H-2B program as follows:

• Failing to pay the offered wage.
• Placing workers outside the stated area of employment.
• Failing to pay workers’ inbound/outbound transportation and subsistence costs.
• Not providing the job order information in Spanish, the language commonly understood by employees.
• Prohibiting third-party travel agencies from charging fees to workers.
• Not complying with document retention requirements.

The H-2B non-immigrant program permits employers to temporarily hire non-immigrants to perform non-agricultural labor or services in the United States. The employment must be of a temporary nature for a limited period of time such as a one-time occurrence, seasonal need, peak load need or intermittent need.

The department’s Office of the Solicitor in Chicago litigated the case.

For more information about the H-2B Program and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).

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 devices to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

HERMITAGE, TN – A federal court in Nashville has affirmed the findings of an investigation that determined a Tennessee security and traffic control services provider and its owner misclassified 105 workers as independent contractors, including some who worked as security guards in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.

On May 26, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee issued a supplemental order awarding an additional $116,273 to affected employees. In total, the court ordered EM Protective Services LLC and its owner, Erik Massikas to pay a total of $632,463 in back wages and liquidated damages.

The U.S. Department of Labor filed suit after an investigation by its Wage and Hour Division determined individuals doing security and traffic control work for EM Protective were, in fact, employees and not independent contractors. As such, the employer was required to pay these workers minimum wage and overtime, as the Fair Labor Standards Act requires.

“A federal court in Nashville found that EM Protective Services misclassified 105 workers as independent contractors, leaving these hard-working people without the rights and benefits afforded to them as employees,” said U.S. Department of Labor Regional Solicitor Tremelle Howard in Atlanta. “Misclassification strips workers of their rights to overtime and other federal protections and benefits.”

After hearing from several employees, a trial  took place in Nashville in July of 2022, the court directed EM Protective to pay $516,190 in back wages and liquidated damages to employees who worked in Puerto Rico. Subsequently, the court directed EM Protective to pay an additional $116,273 in back wages and liquidated damages to a group of guards and traffic control officers employed in the Nashville area.

“The Department of Labor will pursue every available resource, including litigation, to make sure employers fulfill their legal obligations to their employees,” Howard explained.

Based in Hermitage, EM Protective Services provides work zone traffic control, business security, personal protection and private investigation services.  

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 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. 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 i-OS devices, which is available in English and Spanish, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

OKLAHOMA CITY – While dozens of Oklahoma healthcare workers tested scores of people for coronavirus in tents, hotel rooms and other public spaces at the pandemic’s height, their employer misclassified them as independent contractors and denied them the overtime wages, benefits and protections they more than earned.

Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division have recovered $142,360 in back overtime wages for 65 workers employed by Inspire Diagnostics LLC, an on-site COVID testing provider based in Lake Forest, California.

The division determined the employer should have paid the affected employees time and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours over 40 in a workweek. By failing to do so, they violated overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“Misclassifying employees as independent contractors denies workers their full wages and other employment benefits and protections. It also gives employers an unfair competitive advantage, and harms the economy,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Michael Speer in Oklahoma City. “While misclassification is a common practice in the healthcare industry, employers must understand and comply with the law to make sure workers are paid properly.”

Inspire Diagnostics LLC is a subsidiary of Inspire Health Alliance, a U.S.-based healthcare services company that works with healthcare providers to improve patient outcomes, lower costs and reduce risk using care models and technology solutions.

The Wage and Hour Division enforces laws governing pay practices and other labor standards 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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