MINNEAPOLIS – Four Minneapolis restaurants with shared ownership will pay $105,784 in back wages, damages and penalties to resolve violations identified by U.S. Department of Labor, including illegally firing an employee who cooperated with investigators.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found Boludo Holding Co. and its owners, Jerad Rassmussen and Facundo Defraia, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime provisions in several ways and deprived 51 employees of $44,915 in earned overtime wages at Boludo El 38, Boludo Downtown, Boludo Uptown and Boludo Como, and terminated one worker at its Uptown restaurant after they spoke with investigators.

“Retaliating against workers who engage in protected activities, such as cooperating with a federal investigation, is a blatant violation of the law that we will not tolerate,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Kristin Tout in Minneapolis. “The Department of Labor remains firmly committed to protecting workers against retaliation and ensuring they are paid fully for their hours worked.”

In addition to owing $44,915 in back wages, the restaurants’ operators are also liable for an equal amount in liquidated damages, bringing the total recovery for the affected workers to $89,830. The division also assessed the restaurant group with $15,954 in civil money penalties for child labor and tip retention violations. 

The investigation was part of an initiative by the division to examine common food service industry violations by Midwest employers.

Specifically, division investigators found that the employers violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by doing the following:

• Including managers and shift supervisors in a tip pool for servers and others allowed to receive tips, which invalidated the tip pool. 
• Not combining hours employees worked at more than one location, which denied employees overtime wages when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. 
• Allowing at least four workers to routinely use other names and identification numbers to clock-in to avoid paying overtime. 
• Paying two employees straight-time rates for overtime hours, instead of time and one-half their regular rate of pay as required.
• Not maintaining accurate employment records with employee start and stop dates and contact information and allowing individual workers to use others’ names to clock-in. 
• Failing to distribute tips to workers or provide records showing that tips were paid to workers properly. 
• Allowed one 15-year-old to work outside permitted hours.

“Too often, our investigations in the food service industry find employers violating federal overtime, minimum wage and recordkeeping regulations, while workers remain unaware of their rights or afraid to question whether their paychecks are accurate,” Tout continued. “This kind of exploitation hurts workers and their families’ ability to earn a living and harms law-abiding restaurant operators by giving violators an unfair and illegal competitive advantage.”

In addition to paying back wages, damages and penalties, Boludo agreed to create a worksheet to process payroll that will have a weekly run to verify hours over 40 in a week and will pay overtime after 40 hours per week and abide by the FLSA in the future. 

In fiscal year 2024, the Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $35 million in back wages for more than 27,500 food service industry workers nationwide. In the past five years, the Wage and Hour Division in Minnesota found $2,459,002 in back wages due to 865 food service workers. 

The division’s restaurant compliance toolkit explains wage laws for employers and workers. 

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

Employers:    D’Nuez Corp.

                            Antonio Rendon

                            Albino Rendon           

Action:           Consent judgment and order

Court:             U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois                          

Action: The U.S. Department of Labor obtained a consent judgment and order in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Dec. 2, 2024, that requires D’Nuez Corp. and owners Antonio Rendon and Albino Rendon - operators of three restaurants in Chicago and Berwyn - to pay 53 employees a total of $125,000 in overtime back wages and liquidated damages – owed by the employer. 

The judgment resolves a Nov. 13, 2024 complaint filed by the department after its Wage and Hour Division investigators found the family-operated Chicago company and its owners violated the Fair Labor Standards Act when they did the following:

• Failed to pay servers and kitchen staff an overtime premium of time and one-half their hourly rate of pay for hours over 40 in a workweek. The restaurants paid overtime hours in cash at straight time.
• Failed to display a Fair Labor Standards Act poster as required.

The court’s action follows the division’s review of payroll records at two Mexican-fusion restaurants in Chicago on S. Archer Avenue and W. 18th Street from Feb. 28, 2021, to Sept. 26, 2023, that determined the employers owed $62,500 in back wages to the affected employees. In addition to paying back wages and damages, the employers are forbidden from future FLSA violations. The third restaurant, located at 7016 Cermak Road in Berwyn, was not involved in the lawsuit.

The company will repay the back wages in four equal payments within 90 days and must also provide employees information of the FLSA, maintain accurate payroll records, and provide each employee a paystub that details their earnings and withholdings for each pay period. 

Trial attorney Correll L. Kennedy litigated the case on behalf of the department’s Office of the Solicitor.

Quotes: “For decades, federal law has required that most workers be paid overtime at time and one-half their average hourly rate of pay and, yet our investigators all too commonly find employers failing to meet this legal obligation,” said Wage and Hour District Director Tom Gauza in Chicago. “Employers must know and comply with federal wage laws and pay workers their rightfully earned wages.”

“The U.S. Department of Labor will take all necessary legal measures to recover back wages owed to workers and hold employers accountable for following the law,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Christine Heri in Chicago.

Background: In fiscal year 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $29 million in back wages for workers in the food service industry nationwide.

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. 

U.S. Department of Labor v. D’Nuez Corp., Antonio Rendon, Albino Rendon 

Civil Action No. 24-cv-11670

PONTIAC, MI ‒ A federal judge has approved a consent judgment requiring the operators of Carnival Market Inc. - a Mexican specialty supermarket and restaurant in Pontiac - to pay $192,500 in back wages, damages and penalties, after an investigation found the employers illegally denied workers overtime wages and later demanded some of the workers kick back their back wages and damages to them. 

During a subsequent investigation of the company’s pay practices from at least January 2021 to January 2023, the department’s Wage and Hour Division learned the market’s operators, Jason Aviar and Chris Aviar, allegedly interfered with workers’ rights to speak to division investigators by instructing them to falsely tell investigators there were no violations.  

“The U.S. Department of Labor will not allow employers to retaliate against workers in an effort to prevent their cooperation with federal investigations,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Christine Z. Heri in Chicago. “Employers who fail in their legal obligation to pay workers their rightfully earned wages and violate workers’ rights to participate in a federal investigation will be held accountable under the law.”

To resolve the matter, the department obtained a consent order and judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on Dec. 16, 2024, that requires the restaurant and its owners to pay $192,500 in back wages, liquidated damages, compensatory damages and civil money penalties immediately. 

The amount due includes $5,000 in compensatory damages for retaliating against employees in the 2020 investigation, $5,000 in civil money penalties for repeated violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime and recordkeeping provisions, as well as $182,500 – representing $91,250 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages – to 12 workers the division found were denied overtime pay from at least January 2021 to January 2023. 

In 2020, the Wage and Hour Division investigated and found Carnival Market had committed overtime violations by failing to pay 14 employees required overtime wages for hours worked over 40 in a week between October 2018 and September 2020. 

Investigators learned that, after agreeing with the division in 2020 to pay employees back wages for overtime violations, the employers demanded that five employees kick back their back wages and threatened them if they refused. In its filing, the division also alleged Carnival Market and its operators interfered with a second Wage and Hour Division investigation begun in 2023 by telling employees not to speak to investigators or to tell investigators there were no violations. 

The division’s second investigation of Carnival Market, which covered the period of January 2021 to January 2023, revealed the employers continued to violate overtime provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act when they failed to pay some employees required overtime wages and paid non-exempt bakery employees on a salary basis with no overtime compensation. 

“Employers who shortchange their workers also harm local economies by reducing the amounts workers can spend day-to-day,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Timolin Mitchell in Detroit. “Wage theft is a common problem, especially for low-wage workers who may be afraid to question their employers’ pay practices or to share their concerns with authorities. We encourage workers with questions about their rights to contact the Wage and Hour Division. They can speak to us anonymously if needed and in one of the many languages our staff understands.”

In addition to paying the back wages, damages and penalties, Carnival Market must also audit and verify its current compliance with federal wage regulations, conduct FLSA training for managers, distribute and post fact sheets regarding workers’ federal rights, and provide records to the Wage and Hour Division, upon request, for at least two years. 

Senior trial attorney Benjamin Salk litigated the case on behalf of the department’s Office of the Solicitor.

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. The division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.

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

U.S. Department of Labor v. Carnival Market Inc., Jason Aviar, Chris Aviar

Civil Action No.24-cv-13031

# # #

SALT LAKE CITY – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment and injunction against the operator of six Teriyaki Grill locations in Utah who denied 20 employees their legally earned overtime wages.

On Sept. 18, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah ordered Mike Keim, the chain’s founder, to pay $197,936 in back wages and damages to 20 workers after an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division. Investigators determined the employer issued workers two paychecks semi-monthly to avoid paying them the required overtime rate of time and one-half their regular rate, and failed to keep records as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

“As operator of six Teriyaki Grill locations, Mike Keim clearly denied hard-working employees the wages they earned,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Kevin Hunt in Salt Lake City. “Restaurant industry workers depend on every dollar they earn and yet, they often fall victim to unscrupulous employers. The outcome in this case demonstrates the Wage and Hour Division will use whatever tools are needed, including litigation, to recover workers’ wages and hold employers accountable for violating federal law.”

The consent judgment requires the employer to pay 20 employees $98,968 in overtime wages and $98,968 in damages. The employer was also assessed $2,064 in civil money penalties for employing workers between the ages of 14 and 15 later than permitted by federal law.

Keim, a former NFL lineman, founded Teriyaki Grill in 1997. The chain now has 10 franchise locations operating in Utah, including six he operates in Draper, Lehi, Midvale, Park City, Spanish Fork and Taylorsville.

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 division 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. 

 NEW ORLEANS – More than 100 people working as home care companions will receive their share of nearly $355,000 in back wages and damages after investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division of two southern Louisiana home care providers under common ownership. 

Investigators determined SafeCare LLC in Franklin misclassified many employees as independent contractors and paid them straight-time rates for all hours worked, including for overtime hours over 40 in a workweek. In New Iberia, the division found ApexCare LLC denied overtime to six workers for hours over 40 in a workweek. 

“Home care workers are among the highest employees misclassified as independent contractors, paid straight time for overtime and not paid for all the hours they worked,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Troy Mouton in New Orleans. “Misclassification deprives workers of protections under wage and hour laws and allows employers who misclassify workers an unfair advantage over competitors who comply with the law. These violations can lead to serious legal consequences for employers.”

Specifically, the division recovered $176,082 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages from SafeCare for affected employees, and $1,396 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages for the affected employees at ApexCare to resolve their Fair Labor Standards Act violations.

 “Employers with questions about whether their pay practices comply with federal regulations should contact their local Wage and Hour Division,” Mouton added.

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 where they are from and can communicate with workers and employers confidentially in more than 200 languages at 1-866-4-US-WAGE (487-9243). 

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.         

 Learn more about employee misclassification.

CHESTER, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment against a home healthcare agency and its owner, Teajan Kamara, who had deliberately failed to pay employees their legally earned overtime wages.

Following a filing by the department’s Office of the Solicitor in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, the judgment confirms the findings of an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that determined QualiT Healthcare LLC owed the affected workers $414,351 in back wages and liquidated damages for violating overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The court also ordered the agency and its owner to pay a $5,649 civil money penalty for the willful nature of the violations.

“Care workers provide essential services to people in need in our communities and they deserve to be paid all of their earned wages,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director James Cain in Philadelphia. “Enforcement actions against employers like QualiT Healthcare help to ensure workers are paid as the law requires and remind other employers of the importance of compliance.”

Before the department sought the consent judgment, QualiT Healthcare had paid $198,591 in back wages and $9,341 in liquidated damages to the affected workers. The employer must now pay the remaining balance of $212,067 in back wages and liquidated damages to the workers, and the civil penalties to the department.

“The judgment we obtained will put significant amounts of money back in the pockets of hard-working care workers,” said Regional Solicitor Samantha Thomas in Philadelphia. “This case underscores the U.S. Department of Labor’s commitment to pursuing litigation when employers fail to comply with the law.” 

The division’s Philadelphia District Office conducted the investigation and the department’s Office of the Solicitor in Philadelphia filed the district court complaint and motion to approve consent judgment.

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 their regular rate of pay for all 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. The division offers confidential assistance to anyone with questions about how to comply with the law by calling the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). The division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages, regardless of their immigration status. Download the agency’s Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices – free and available in English and Spanish – to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

WASHINGTON – Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su issued the following statement on the November 2024 Employment Situation report:

“Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the American economy added 227,000 jobs in November, confirming what we know to be true: that this is a strong, stable economy and workers are benefiting. After accounting for 56,000 upward revisions to September and October data, the three-month average of payroll employment gains stands at 173,000, indicating a healthy labor market with low unemployment, delivering opportunities for millions of workers.

“Wage growth continues to outpace inflation, with nominal wages increasing by 0.4 percent in November and annual growth of 4.0 percent over the past 12 months. This means that most working Americans have more money in their pockets, across industries and occupations. And the unemployment rate remains at the lowest range we have seen in 50 years. 

“As the Biden-Harris administration prepares to hand off one of the strongest economies in history to the next administration, we do so having created millions of good-paying jobs, strengthened the middle class and ensured broad-based growth following a pandemic that threated to endanger the United States’ position as the strongest economy in the world. This recovery was not promised, but rather it was delivered with strong leadership and investment in working people.”

Employer:   25 Vape & Smoke LLC

Employer address:    1745 North Laurel Road, London, KY 40741

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $12,142 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages for 22 employees. Wage and Hour Division investigators determined that the employer and its owner Salik Rao paid straight-time wages for all hours worked, instead of paying them the required overtime rate of time and one-half for hours over 40 in a workweek, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

Quote: “Kentucky workers support their families and communities when they clock in, but they can’t fully achieve their earnings’ potential when they do not get every penny they earned,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Karen Garnett-Civils in Louisville, Kentucky. “25 Vape & Smoke asked them to do a job, they did it, and those workers deserve to take home every dollar they earned.”

“When a business owner hires workers, they are accepting the responsibilities that go along with that decision,” said Regional Solicitor Tremelle Howard in Atlanta. “Employers must follow wage laws, or they will face legal and financial consequences.”

Background: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of the Solicitor previously obtained a court order – in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky on July 23, 2024, that required the employer to pay the back wages and damages and enjoining it from future violations of the minimum wage, overtime wage, and recordkeeping provisions of the FLSA.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Workers and employers can call the division confidentially with questions or concerns – regardless of where they are from – and the division 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. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment and order in federal court that recovers a total of more than $2.4 million in back wages and liquidated damages from Massachusetts and Pennsylvania healthcare staffing agencies that denied 341 employees overtime wages, including employees misclassified as independent contractors. 

Entered in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Nov. 25, 2024, the consent judgment and order requires Gate Solution Systems Inc. of Malden, Massachusetts, and Healthcare Services Group Inc. of Bensalem, Pennsylvania, to pay a total of over $2.4 million as a result of the violations.

“Misclassification of employees as independent contractors remains a serious concern for the Department of Labor,” said Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “Preventing and combating misclassification is a priority for the Wage and Hour Division as it deprives workers of their rights to full wages, health and safety protections, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation and tax protections.”

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Gate Solution Systems Inc. misclassified housekeepers, laundry and dietary workers as independent contractors. The employees in this case provided services at healthcare facilities in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. Employees were not paid the required overtime rate when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek.  

In addition to paying back wages and liquidated damages to the affected employees, the consent judgment enjoins Gate Solution Systems and its officers and managers from future Fair Labor Standards Act violations, including failing to maintain employment records. 

Filed by the department’s regional Office of the Solicitor in Boston, the complaint names Gate Solution Systems, certain of its officers and managers, and joint employer Healthcare Services Group, and alleges that Gate Solution Systems hired the employees to provide cleaning, laundry and dietary assistance services, under the supervision of Healthcare Services Group, at various health care facilities. 

“This case’s outcome should remind employers that the U.S. Department of Labor will take appropriate action, including legal action, to protect workers whose employers deny them proper pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act,” said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. “The Department of Labor will always strive to protect the rights of workers.”

The division’s Northern New England District Office conducted the investigation. The department’s Regional Office of the Solicitor in Boston filed the consent judgment. 

In fiscal year 2024, the Wage and Hour Division concluded 2,376 investigations in healthcare industries. These investigations recovered more than $37 million in back wages for nearly 30,000 workers.

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

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Employer:                                    Domo Café Kahala and Domo Café Chinatown

Investigation sites:                4346 Waialae Ave., Honolulu, HI 96816

                                                          1016 Maunakea St., Honolulu, HI 96817

Investigation findings: A U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation found the owner of two Domo Café restaurants in Honolulu and his wife, a manager at the restaurants, illegally retained portions of tips from a tip pool, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The law prohibits an employer, including managers and supervisors, to keep any portion of tips received by employees. Investigators also discovered the employer failed to pay all overtime owed to  one employee.

Wages, Damages Recovered:   $72,054 in tips for 14 employees

                                                                 $79,226 in liquidated damages for 14 workers

                                                                 $7,172 in overtime wages to one employee

Penalty Assessed:                         $2,030 in civil money penalties because of the reckless nature of violations.  

Quote: “It is critically essential for non-management service staff to be able to retain the entirety of the tips they earn so they can offset living expenses and meet their financial goals,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Terence Trotter in Honolulu. “We urge all employers in the restaurant service sector to review their tip retention policies to ensure compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act.”

Background: 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 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.