HACKENSACK, NJ – Three northern New Jersey supermarkets have paid more than $1.8 million in back wages and damages after federal investigators found the employers deliberately failed to pay required overtime rates to 226 employees who worked overtime at stores in Hackensack, Oakland and Waldwick.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found the pay practices of D & J Enterprise LLC, J & Y Giant LLC and Waldwick Farmers Market LLC, operating as Giant Farmers Market and operated by John Lee and Diana Lee, violated provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Specifically, investigators determined the employers did the following:

• Paid some employees a day rate or salary, without any overtime pay for hours over 40.
• Paid other employees in checks for their first 40 hours, and cash for hours over 40, without any required overtime pay.
• Failed to include non-discretionary bonuses into the regular rate of pay, which is necessary when calculating overtime rates.
• Deducted breaks of only 20 minutes from employees’ hours worked.

The division’s investigation led to the recovery of $917,455 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages and prompted the department to assess $80,428 in civil money penalties for the willful nature of the violations.

“Supermarket and grocery workers are among some of our nation’s lowest-paid, and they depend on every dollar earned to make ends meet,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Paula Ruffin in Mountainside, New Jersey. “Giant Farmers Market’s attempt to evade federal regulations that protect workers’ rights to be paid all of their earned wages created an unfair advantage over their law-abiding competitors.”

Learn more about federal regulations governing the retail industry.

D & J Enterprise LLC is based in Hackensack, J & Y Giant LLC in Oakland and Waldwick, and Farmers Market LLC is based in Waldwick.

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 required 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. 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 – also available in Spanish – to ensure hours and pay are accurate.                    

Who:             U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division

                        U.S. Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau

                        U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

                        Texas Department of State Health Services

What:             “Working Mothers: What to Expect from Your Employer When You’re Expecting” webinar

When:            June 22, 2023, 12 p.m. CDT

Where:           Register online for the webinar

Background: The U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is presenting an online webinar to review the rights of new and expecting mothers to workplace protections. Presenters from the department’s Wage and Hour Division and its Women’s Bureau, the EEOC and the Texas Department of State Health Services will provide information to workers, worker advocates and other stakeholders on federal and state laws that protect pregnant women and new mothers from workplace discrimination, allow for time off for a child’s birth or adoption and make certain nursing mothers have breaks to express breast milk while at work.

There is no cost to attend but registration is recommended.

The department offers fact sheets on Birth and Bonding and Job-Protected Leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division or learn more about the Women’s Bureau.

NASHVILLE, TN – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $270,751 in back wages after investigators learned a Nashville restaurant required servers to share tips with dishwashers and failed to pay some workers overtime wages when required. In all, 82 employees will benefit from the wage recovery.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined Cilantro Five Points Inc. — operator of Cilantro Five Points Mexican Grill and Tequila Bar and Cilantro Restaurant Inc. — violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and overtime requirements when they did the following:

• Required servers to share tips with dishwashers, specifically $5 per night on Fridays and Saturdays.
• Failed to pay overtime to non-exempt employees for hours over 40 in a workweek, paying cash wages for some work hours and an additional day-rate amount for other work hours.
• Neglected to pay non-exempt employees at least the proper minimum wage for all hours in a workweek.
• Failed to keep accurate records of some employees’ hours worked, as required.

“Restaurant industry employees work hard for their wages, especially for the tips they earn for good customer service. They depend to these tips to help make ends meet,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Lisa Kelly in Nashville, Tennessee. “By federal law, tips belong to the people who earned them, and employers are prohibited from withholding or redirecting these earnings.”

“In this case, Cilantro Five Points Inc. also failed to pay proper minimum wage and overtime to workers,” Kelly added. “The Wage and Hour Division makes numerous resources available for employers, either online or by calling our local offices, to make sure their pay practices comply with the law.”

These findings follow investigations at two other Tennessee restaurants, Grecian Steakhouse and Coco’s Italian Market and Restaurants, where the division also identified FLSA violations. In fiscal year 2022 Division investigators recovered more than $27 million for more than 22,500 workers in the food service industry nationwide.

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 division confidentially with questions – regardless of their immigration status – 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, also available in Spanish.

ALBANY, NY - El Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. ha recuperado $37,103 en salarios atrasados para 86 trabajadores empleados por tres empleadores de la industria agrícola -una granja del condado de Wayne, un contratista de trabajo agrícola de Michigan y un operador de almacén del condado de Genesee- cuyas prácticas de empleo les rebajaron los salarios y les negaron el dinero que se les debía en virtud de la normativa federal que protege a los trabajadores agrícolas temporales.

La recuperación salarial comenzó con una investigación de la División de Horas y Salarios del departamento en Lake Breeze Fruit Farms Inc. en Sodus, donde la división determinó que el empleador no pagaba a ciertos empleados asalariados -no exentos en virtud de la Ley de Normas Justas de Trabajo de Trabajo (FLSA por sus siglas en ingles)- la tasa adecuada de horas extras por horas superiores a 40 en semanas laborales cuando manipulaban mercancías de otras granjas. Los investigadores también descubrieron que el empleador no llevaba registros precisos de las horas de trabajo de los empleados asalariados no exentos, como se exige. Para resolver sus violaciones de la FLSA, Lake Breeze Fruit Farms pagó $6,177 en salarios atrasados a 54 trabajadores.

La división también se enteró de que los trabajadores de la granja acogidos al programa federal de agricultura temporal H-2A trabajaban siete días a la semana, pero el empleador no les pagaba las horas extras por trabajar en su día de descanso, lo que suponía una violación de la promesa de Lake Breeze de cumplir la legislación del estado de Nueva York como parte de sus obligaciones en virtud del programa H-2A. Los investigadores también determinaron que, aunque Lake Breeze llevaba un registro del total de horas semanales trabajadas, no registraba las horas diarias trabajadas, un requisito del programa H-2A. El empleador pagó otros $4,339 en salarios atrasados a 54 empleados por estas infracciones.

Durante su investigación, los investigadores de la división se encontraron con trabajadores de D Perez Harvesting LLC, un contratista laboral de Three Rivers, Michigan, que suministraba los trabajadores H-2A de la granja. Se enteraron de que el contratista pagaba a los trabajadores a destajo por el número de fanegas de manzanas recogidas, lo que hacía que los trabajadores cobraran menos que la tasa salarial de federal de efecto adverso.    

La división también descubrió que D Perez Harvesting no pagó a los trabajadores H-2A los gastos necesarios para viajar desde su ubicación en Michigan hasta el lugar de trabajo en Nueva York. El contratista tampoco reembolsó íntegramente a los trabajadores los gastos de transporte de regreso a su lugar de residencia al finalizar el contrato de trabajo y no pagó los gastos necesarios de los trabajadores para sus viajes de regreso a casa. Para resolver estas infracciones H-2A, D Perez Harvesting pagó $25,201 adeudados a 78 empleados.

En otro hallazgo, los investigadores encontraron personas empleadas por Farm Fresh First LLC de Oakfield trabajando en la oficina y el cobertizo de clasificación en Lake Breeze. La división determinó que el empleador, una empresa de almacenamiento y depósito de productos agrícolas, no pagó las horas extras a un empleado asalariado no exento ni mantuvo registros de sus horas de trabajo. Farm Fresh First pagó $1,385 en salarios atrasados a un trabajador para resolver las infracciones de la FLSA.

Además de las recuperaciones de salarios atrasados, la división impuso una multa civil de $1,636 a Lake Breeze Fruit Farms Inc. y de $ 4,703 a D Pérez Harvesting LLC por sus violaciónes de H-2A, que ambos empleadores han pagado.

"Los empresarios que se benefician del programa agrícola temporal H-2A deben conocer y seguir las prácticas salariales legales establecidas. Los trabajadores de este programa proporcionan mano de obra fundamental para las necesidades de la industria agrícola de Nueva York. Sus empleadores deben pagar a los trabajadores H-2A como exigen sus contratos y proporcionarles lo necesario para vivir y trabajar con seguridad", explicó el director de distrito de la División de Horas y Salarios, Jay Rosenblum, en Albany (Nueva York).

"Infracciones como las detectadas en estas investigaciones pueden evitarse con conocimiento y la diligencia debida", añadió Rosenblum. "Los empleadores que no estén seguros de sus responsabilidades en virtud del programa H-2A y otras leyes aplicadas por la División de Horas y Salarios no duden en ponerse en contacto con nosotros".

El programa agrícola temporal H-2A permite a los empleadores agrícolas que prevean una escasez de trabajadores nacionales traer a EE.UU. trabajadores extranjeros no inmigrantes para realizar labores o servicios agrícolas de carácter temporal o estacional. Más información sobre los requisitos del programa H-2A y la protección de los trabajadores.

La Oficina del Área de Búfalo de la Oficina de Distrito de Albany, Nueva York llevó a cabo la investigación.

Obtenga más información sobre la División de Horas y Salarios, incluida una herramienta de búsqueda que puede utilizar si cree que la división le debe salarios atrasados. El departamento puede hablar con quien llame de forma confidencial en más de 200 idiomas a través de la línea de ayuda gratuita de la agencia al 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Descárgate la nueva aplicación Timesheet App de la agencia para dispositivos iOS y Android -también disponible en español- para asegurarte de que las horas y el salario son correctos.

Read the release in English.

ALBANY, NY – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $37,103 in back wages for 86 workers employed by three agricultural industry employers — a Wayne County farm, a Michigan farm labor contractor and a Genesee County warehouse operator — whose employment practices shortchanged their wages and denied monies owed to them under federal regulations protecting temporary farmworkers.

The wage recovery began with an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division at Lake Breeze Fruit Farms Inc. in Sodus, where the division determined the employer did not pay certain salaried employees — non-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act — the proper overtime rate for hours over 40 in workweeks when they handled other farms’ goods. Investigators also found the employer failed to keep accurate records of salaried non-exempt employees’ work hours, as required. To resolve its FLSA violations, Lake Breeze Fruit Farms paid $6,177 in back wages to 54 workers.

The division also learned that workers at the farm under the federal H-2A temporary agricultural program  labored seven days a week but the employer did not pay them overtime for working on their day of rest, a violation of Lake Breeze’s promise to follow New York state law as part of its H-2A obligations. Investigators also determined that, while Lake Breeze kept a record of total weekly hours worked, they failed to record daily hours worked, an H-2A program requirement. The employer paid an additional $4,339 in back wages to 54 employees for these violations.

During their investigation, division investigators met workers from D Perez Harvesting LLC, a Three Rivers, Michigan, labor contractor that supplied the farm’s H-2A workers. They learned the contractor paid workers a piece rate for the number of bushels of apples picked which led the workers to be paid less than federal adverse effect wage rates. 

The division also found D Perez Harvesting did not pay H-2A workers required expenses for travel from its Michigan location to the New York job site. The contractor also failed to reimburse workers fully for the cost of transportation back to their place of residency at the work contract’s end and did not pay for workers’ required expenses for their trips home. To resolve these H-2A violations, D Perez Harvesting paid $25,201 owed to 78 employees.

In yet another finding, investigators encountered people employed by Farm Fresh First LLC of Oakfield working in the office and grading shed at Lake Breeze. The division found the employer, a farm product warehousing and storage company, failed to pay overtime to one salaried non-exempt employee and to keep records of their work hours. Farm Fresh First paid $1,385 in back wages to one worker to resolve the FLSA violations.

In addition to the back wage recoveries, the division assessed Lake Breeze Fruit Farms Inc. with $1,636 in civil money penalties and D Perez Harvesting LLC with $4,703 in civil money penalties for their H-2A violations, which both employers have paid.

“Employers who benefit from the H-2A temporary agricultural program must know and follow lawful, established pay practices. Workers in this program provide critical labor for New York’s agriculture industry needs. Their employers must pay H-2A workers as their contracts require and provide them with what they need to live and work safely,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Jay Rosenblum in Albany, New York.

“Violations like those found in these investigations are preventable with knowledge and due diligence,” Rosenblum added. “Employers unsure of their responsibilities under the H-2A program and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division should feel free to contact us.”

The H-2A temporary agricultural program allows agricultural employers who anticipate a shortage of domestic workers to bring nonimmigrant foreign workers to the U.S. to perform agricultural labor or services of a temporary or seasonal nature. Learn more about the H-2A program’s requirements and worker protections.

The Buffalo Area Office of the division’s Albany, New York, District Office conducted the investigation.

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 iOS and Android devices – also available in Spanish – to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

Lea el comunicado en español.

Employer:                                         

Rincon Brewery Inc.

4100 Telegraph Road

Ventura, CA 93003

Investigation findings: Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Rincon Brewery — operator of three California restaurants in Carpinteria, Santa Barbara and Ventura — allowed managers and supervisors to keep a portion of customers’ tips, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. They determined the employer distributed tips to employees based on job classifications, with non-tipped managers keeping the highest percentage of tips.

Back Wages/Liquidated Damages Recovered:     

$30,439 in back wages for 105 employees

$30,439 in liquidated damages for 105 employees

Quote: “Food service industry employers must know that tips are the property of tipped employees who earn them,” said Wage and Hour Division Assistant District Director Siriporn Poondee in Los Angeles. “Under no condition may restaurants withhold tips earned by employees, including sharing any portion of employees’ tips with managers or supervisors.”

Background: In fiscal year 2022, the Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $27 million for more than 22,000 workers in the food service industry. In 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported near record numbers of job openings and workers in the accommodations and food services industry quitting their jobs. 

The Wage and Hour Division protects workers against retaliation and has regulations that prohibit retaliation, harassment, intimidation or adverse actions against employees that assert their worker rights. 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. Workers and employers with questions can contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from.

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

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Wage and Hour Division will offer online seminars for contracting agencies, contractors, unions, workers and other stakeholders on the requirements for paying prevailing wages on federally funded construction and service contracts.

Part of the division’s effort to increase awareness and improve compliance, the seminars will include recorded training videos on a variety of Davis-Bacon Act and Service Contract Act topics that participants can view on-demand. The division will then offer live Q&A sessions to provide additional information.

Q&A sessions on compliance issues will be offered as follows:

• Davis-Bacon Act: June 27 and Sept. 13.
• Service Contract Act: June 28 and Sept. 14.

“Prevailing wage laws are key to ensuring that construction and service jobs are good jobs and that workers on federally funded projects across the country are paid fair wages and benefits,” said Principal Deputy Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “Recent investments in our nation’s infrastructure offer us a great opportunity to educate employers so they can compete for new federal contract opportunities and put skilled employees to work in their communities.”

While seminar attendance is free, registration is required. Additional information, including the links to pre-recorded video trainings and virtual Q&A sessions, will be provided to participants after registration.

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

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered more than $604,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for 50 employees of a Virginia Beach home healthcare agency that illegally asked workers to waive their right to receive hard-earned overtime pay.

An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division found Progressive Services of Virginia LLC and co-owners Georgiana Smith and Richard Smith asked direct care employees to sign documents waiving their rights to overtime compensation. The employers paid straight-time rates for hours over 40 in a workweek.

The division recovered $302,144 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages for the affected workers and assessed the employers $18,703 in civil money penalties for their intentional violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“The Fair Labor Standards Act does not permit employers to deny overtime pay or to instruct workers to waive their overtime pay,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Roberto Melendez in Richmond, Virginia. “Employees should know their workplace rights and employers must understand and comply with the law.”  

Progressive Services of Virginia provides in-home intellectual disabilities and developmental disabilities services for children, adolescents and adults in the Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Portsmouth areas.

Learn more about direct care workers and the responsibility of their employers to comply with federal minimum wage and overtime law.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws the division enforces, contact its 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. 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.

Lea el comunicado en español.

SACRAMENTO – Federal wage and hour investigators have seen corrupt employers try all kinds of scams to shortchange workers and to intimidate or retaliate against employees but a northern California restaurant’s attempt to use an alleged priest to get employees to admit workplace “sins” may be among the most shameless.

During litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor in federal court, an employee of Che Garibaldi Inc., operator of Taqueria Garibaldi, testified that the restaurant offered employees a person identified as a priest to hear confessions during work hours. The employee told the court the priest urged workers to “get the sins out,” and asked employees if they had stolen from the employer, been late for work, had done anything to harm their employer, or if they had bad intentions toward their employer.

Ultimately, the employer agreed to a consent judgment, and Judge William B. Shubb in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California ordered Che Garibaldi and owners and operators Eduardo Hernandez, Hector Manual Martinez Galindo and Alejandro Rodriguez to pay $140,000 in back wages and damages to 35 employees. Che Garibaldi Inc. operates two Taqueria Garibaldi restaurants in Sacramento and one in Roseville.

The court’s May 8, 2023, action follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found Taqueria Garibaldi denied employees overtime pay for hours over 40 in a workweek, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. They also learned the employer paid managers from the employee tip pool illegally, threatened employees with retaliation and adverse immigration consequences for cooperating with the department, and fired one worker who they believed had complained to the department.

“Under oath, an employee of Taqueria Garibaldi explained how the restaurant offered a supposed priest to hear their workplace ‘sins’ while other employees reported that a manager falsely claimed that immigration issues would be raised by the department’s investigation,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Marc Pilotin in San Francisco. “This employer’s despicable attempts to retaliate against employees were intended to silence workers, obstruct an investigation and prevent the recovery of unpaid wages.”

In addition to aiding the recovery of $70,000 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages, the judge ordered the restaurant and its owners to pay the department $5,000 in civil money penalties due to the willful nature of their violations.

“The U.S. Department of Labor and its Solicitor’s Office will not tolerate workplace retaliation and will act swiftly to make clear that immigration status has no bearing on workers’ rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act,” Pilotin added.

The court also ordered the defendants permanently forbidden from FLSA violations. Specifically, the court ordered Taqueria Garibaldi not to take any action to stop employees from asserting their rights, interfere with any department investigation, or terminate, threaten or discriminate against any employee perceived to have spoken with investigators.

The division’s Sacramento District Office conducted the investigation. The department’s Regional Solicitor’s Office in San Francisco litigated the case.

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.

Julie A. Su, acting Secretary of Labor, U.S. Department of Labor vs. Che Garibaldi dba Taqueria Garibaldi, a California corporation; Eduardo Hernandez; Hector Manual Martinez Galindo; and Alejandro Rodriguez.

Case No. 2:22-cv-00756-wbs-kjn

Este comunicado de prensa también está disponible en Español.  

LABELLE, FL – Federal investigators have found that a subcontractor employed during construction of a new reservoir pump station on the Caloosahatchee River in Hendry County failed to pay 11 electricians the correct wage rate for the federally supported project, denying them $171,998 in wages and benefits.

The U.S. Department of Labor determined Quality Electric Contracting Inc. of Clewiston should have paid the electricians $37 per hour to pull wire, run conduit and ground wire for the new Labelle pump station but paid them $25 per hour or less for their work.

After reviewing the company’s pay records, the department’s Wage and Hour Division learned the employer paid some electricians the lower rates for laborers and others a higher laborers’ rate. Ultimately, Quality Electric failed to pay the electricians the project’s prevailing wage rate. The subcontractor also did not provide the project’s required health and welfare benefits to most of the affected workers.

In doing so, the employer violated provisions of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act. These regulations govern pay practices of construction contractors and subcontractors working on federally funded or assisted contracts.

“When they bid on federally supported contracts, employers must follow the applicable wage classification rates in the contracts and cannot negotiate and pay lower rates,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Nicolas Ratmiroff in Tampa, Florida. “Employers who fail to pay workers the required wage rates in the awarded contract can find themselves liable for significant amounts of back wages and, in some cases, debarred from bidding on future contracts.”

Employers who have questions about complying with the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts are encouraged to attend an upcoming prevailing wage seminar.

The South Florida Water Management District project’s prime contractor, Harry, Pepper & Associates Inc. subcontracted with Quality Electric Contracting to complete electrical work on the C-43 West Basin Storage Reservoir Pump Station.

Workers who feel they may not be getting the wages they earned may contact a Wage and Hour Division representative in their state through a list and interactive online map on the agency’s website. The division also offers numerous online resources for employers, including a website for government contracts compliance assistance and a fact sheet on the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts. Employers and workers can get their questions answered – regardless of where they are from – by contacting the Wage and Hour Division confidentially at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE. 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. Help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and iOS Timesheet App for free in English or Spanish.

Read this news release En Español.