SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $373,471 in back wages and damages for 23 caregivers after an investigation found a Bay Area staffing agency denied overtime wages to workers, some of whom worked 12 to 16 hours a day.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Creative Living Solutions Inc. in Union City paid employees straight-time rates for all hours worked, including overtime hours. By doing so, the employer, whose home care workers serve older adults and people with disabilities, failed to pay the required time-and-a-half overtime rates for hours over 40 in a workweek, a Fair Labor Standards Act violation.

The company and owner Nafisa Mohseni accepted the division’s findings, agreed to pay the back wages owed and changed their pay practices to avoid future FLSA violations.

“The U.S. Department of Labor is determined to recover full wages for workers when their employer fails to pay them as required,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Susana Blanco in San Jose, California. “Care workers often work around-the-clock to meet the needs of people who depend on them, and they deserve to be paid properly for the long hours they spend on the job.”

In addition to recovering $186,735 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages, the department assessed the employer $17,227 in civil money penalties for the willful nature of their violations.

Learn more about worker protections for care workers and the responsibility of employers to comply with federal minimum wage and overtime law.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Employers and workers can call the division confidentially with questions, regardless of where they are from. The department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices – free and now available in Spanish – to track hours and pay.

Employer: Bellinger Parts Group Inc., operating as NAPA Auto Parts

Corporate location:  NAPA Auto Parts, 160 Bentree Lane, Florence, SC 29501                                

Sites investigated: NAPA Auto Parts, 612 Pearl St. Darlington, SC 29532

NAPA Auto Parts, 913 Highway 301 N. Dillon, SC 29536

NAPA Auto Parts, 116 3rd Loop Road Effingham, SC 29505

NAPA Auto Parts, 160 Bentree Lane Florence SC 29501

NAPA Auto Parts, 1016 S 5th St. Hartsville, SC 29550

NAPA Auto Parts, 1806 E. Highway 76, Marion, SC 29571

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found that Bellinger Parts Group Inc. — who operates the businesses as NAPA Auto Parts stores — made illegal deductions from employees’ pay at six South Carolina locations for store damage, cash register shortages and uniforms. These deductions caused some workers’ pay to fall below the $7.25 per hour federal minimum wage for all hours worked, a Fair Labor Standards Act violation.

Bellinger Parts Group also failed to pay non-exempt salary counter salespeople and delivery drivers overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek. Investigators also learned the employer did not include non-discretionary sales bonuses in some employees’ regular rate when calculating correct overtime rates, causing Bellinger Parts Group to pay overtime premiums at rates lower than required by law.

Back wages recovered: The division recovered $66,322 in back wages for 20 workers.                                               

Quote: “Employers who deny workers their full earnings make it harder for employees to provide for themselves and their families and give these employers an unfair advantage over law-abiding competitors,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jamie Benefiel in Columbia, South Carolina. “Other employers should use the outcome of this investigation as a reminder to review their pay practices to make certain they avoid violations that have costly consequences.”

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 industry-specific toolkits, like the auto repair and maintenance compliance toolkit.

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.

Employer:      The Saucy Crab Grand Rapids LLC operating as The Saucy Crab

                        5039 28th St. SE

                        Grand Rapids, MI

Investigation findings: On July 14, 2023, the Department of Labor filed suit against The Saucy Crab Grand Rapids LLC and owner, Jixi Qui, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan seeking back wages and liquidated damages for 26 workers. An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division found the restaurant used a tip pool illegally and denied employees correct minimum and overtime wages.

The department alleges the company owes $75,402 in back wages to the 26 workers after investigators found the company violated provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act when they did the following:

• Included the owner who served as manager, along with cooks and dishwashers in a tip pool customarily used for servers and bartenders.
• Made illegal deductions from servers’ pay for uniforms, aprons, name tags, and lost items such as crab crackers, scissors and oyster forks, resulting in employees failing to earn minimum wage.
• Failed to pay servers time and one-half their cash wage in periods when the employer claimed a tip credit. The employer should have paid time and one-half the employees’ regular hourly rate.
• Paid cooks a flat rate, denying them overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek.
• Failed to maintain any payroll records for at least two cooks.
• Failed to pay one cook any wages.
• Did not maintain accurate time records for employees from at least August 2020 until October 2022.

The suit also seeks an equal amount in liquated damages for employees and an injunction barring Qui from violating the FLSA in the future.                                               

Quote: “Our investigation found the owner of the Saucy Crab restaurant abused the rights of their employees by illegally taking tips from customers intended for servers and bartenders and by denying servers, cooks and dishwashers their fully earned wages,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Mary O’Rourke in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “The Department of Labor will fight to protect the rights of restaurant industry workers who, in addition to being among the nation’s lowest paid people, may be vulnerable to wage theft because they might not know their rights and protections or be reluctant to exercise them.”

Background: The department’s Quick Service Restaurants Compliance Assistance Toolkit explains wage laws for the industry. Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division.

FAIRFAX, VA – A federal court has directed a Fairfax home care agency and its owners to pay more than $1.6 million in back wages and liquidated damages to 202 home health aides in a consent judgment obtained by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The action by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia follows an investigation of 1st Adult & Pediatrics Healthcare Services Inc. by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found the company and its owners, Carolyn Bryant-Taylor and Kafomdi Josephine Okocha, willfully denied the affected workers overtime wages by paying them straight-time rates of pay for all hours worked, including hours over 40 in a workweek.

Investigators also learned the employers did not keep required payroll records, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Despite the division’s findings, 1st Adult & Pediatrics Healthcare Services, Bryant-Taylor and Okocha refused to pay the back wages and damages owed to the workers. In September 2022, the department’s Office of the Regional Solicitor filed suit to recover the monies owed.

The court’s judgment required the employers to pay $834,782 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to the affected workers. They must also pay $48,675 in civil money penalties to the department for their intentional violations and must not violate the FLSA in the future.

“Hard-working home care aides provide essential services to people in need and deserve to be paid all their legally earned wages,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Nicholas Fiorello in Baltimore. “Our investigation found the employers willfully disregarded the law and used pay practices that harmed their own employees.”

The division’s Baltimore District Office conducted the investigation. Senior Trial Attorney Alejandro Herrera in Region III’s Philadelphia office and Wage and Hour Counsel Angela France in the Arlington, Virginia, office litigated the case and secured the judgment.

“The U.S. Department of Labor will hold employers who fail to comply willfully with the Fair Labor Standards Act legally accountable,” said Deputy Regional Solicitor Samantha Thomas in Philadelphia. “The outcome of this investigation and litigation should send a clear signal to other home healthcare industry employers that we will not tolerate employees being shortchanged by illegal pay practices.”

Based in Fairfax, 1st Adult & Pediatrics Healthcare Services Inc. provides skilled nursing and pediatric care services in residential settings in Virginia.

Learn more about worker protections for care workers and the responsibility of 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.

Civil Action No. 1:22-cv-01032

PHILADELPHIA – A federal court in Pennsylvania has ordered a Philadelphia home healthcare staffing agency to pay $197,236 in back wages and liquidated damages to 31 employees after federal investigators found that their employer failed to pay proper overtime.

On July 10, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia entered a consent judgment requiring Empire Homecare Agency LLC to pay back wages, damages and penalties resulting from litigation prompted by a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division determined the staffing agency failed to pay an overtime premium to employees for hours over 40 in a workweek while living in their clients’ homes. Investigators also learned of eight instances when Empire Homecare did not pay overtime to three employees who did not live with their clients. They also learned the employer failed to combine the hours that an employee spent caring for two clients when calculating overtime. These actions violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“Home care workers deliver vital services to people in our communities in need. Their hard work allows many people who need regular care to live in their homes,” said Wage and Hour District Director James Cain in Philadelphia. “Empire Homecare Agency’s failure to comply with federal wage regulations denied more than 30 employees thousands in wages on which they depend to care for themselves and their families.”

The judgment also requires the payment of $15,010 in civil money penalties for the intentional nature of the employers’ violations, and forbids the employer from future FLSA violations.

“Home healthcare staffing employers must ensure they comply with federal wage laws. Third-party employers like Empire Homecare Agency cannot claim an overtime exemption for live-in homecare workers,” said Deputy Regional Solicitor Samantha Thomas. “This enforcement action goes a long way in ensuring that home care employees working for this employer receive all of their hard-earned wages, including overtime pay.”

Empire Homecare Agency LLC is a non-medical home care agency servicing the greater Philadelphia area.

Learn more about minimum wage and overtime requirements for direct care workers.

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 Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions or concerns – regardless of where you 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.

BURLINGAME, CA – A federal investigation has recovered more than $469,000 in back wages and damages after a Northern California restaurant chain’s pay practices denied 114 workers of their fully earned wages at five Bay-area locations.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Suleiman Fakhouri & Sons, the operator of Crepevine, did not pay employees overtime properly at its locations in Berkeley, Burlingame, Oakland, Palo Alto and San Jose. The division also learned the employer assigned minors to work later and longer than federal child labor laws permit.

In addition to the recovery of $234,636 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages, the department assessed $82,706 in civil money penalties for the willful nature of the employer’s violations.

Investigators determined Suleiman Fakhouri & Sons violated overtime and child labor provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act. Specifically, the division cited Crepevine for the following violations:

• Failing to combine hours employees worked at more than one location.
• Paying overtime hours worked in cash at straight-time rates, when time and one-half is required.
• Failing to keep records of cash payments for overtime in its payroll records.
• Allowing 14- and 15-year-old employees to work past 7 p.m., more than 3 hours on school nights and more than 18 hours on school weeks.
• Not keeping records for several employees and not registering their hours worked and wages due.

“Employers such as Crepevine who employ workers at more than one location must combine the total hours worked an all locations to pay workers accurately to avoid overtime violations and, in this case, costly consequences,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Susana Blanco in San Jose, California. “The onus is on employers to ensure their employees are paid fully and that workers receive all of the protections they are due.”

Since its incorporation in 1992, Suleiman Fakhouri & Sons has operated Crepevine restaurants in the Bay Area. The enterprise now has nine Bay Area locations. In addition to the Berkeley, Burlingame, Oakland, Palo Alto and San Jose locations in this investigation, the employers operates Crepevine restaurants in Mountain View, San Francisco, San Rafael and Santa Rosa.

Learn more about federal regulations governing the restaurant industry.

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 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 – free and now available in Spanish – to track hours and pay.

PHOENIX – The U.S. Department of Labor is seeking people now or once employed by a national auto parts distributor and its delivery company who may be owed their share of more than $5.6 million in back wages and damages recovered on behalf of more than 1,300 drivers.

The division encourages people who worked while classified as independent contractors for Parts Authority and Diligent Delivery Systems in Arizona from April 2012 through March 2020 and who believe the employer may have denied them full wages to call 877-465-4898 from Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. CDT. Workers are strongly encouraged to act quickly.

In November 2022, the department obtained a consent judgment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona that requires Parts Authority Arizona LLC and Arizona Logistics Inc. – operating as Diligent Delivery Systems – to pay the monies to the drivers who the employer misclassified as independent contractors.

An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined the misclassification caused the employer to incur violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act for the following:

• Failing to meet minimum wage requirements.
• Paying straight-time rates for all hours worked.
• Not paying the time and one-half overtime rate for hours over 40 in a workweek.
• Failing to keep required timekeeping records.

Investigators also found the company required employees to use their personal vehicles for deliveries and did not pay them when they did, another FLSA violation.

“We want to make sure that Parts Authority Arizona and Arizona Logistics workers receive all the wages and damages owed to them,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Eric Murray in Phoenix. “Workers may be difficult to locate when they change addresses or phone numbers, and they may not be aware they are owed back pay. The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division and its Office of the Solicitor is working diligently to ensure the more than 1,300 underpaid employees of Parts Authority and Arizona Logistics get their shares of the $5.6 million that the agency recovered for them.”

Founded in 1973, Parts Authority is a leading national distributor of automotive replacement parts, tools, equipment and transmissions. Headquartered in Lake Success, New York, the company has more than 200 U.S. locations. Diligent Delivery Systems has national headquarters in Houston and 46 U.S. locations serving industries, including automotive, healthcare, retail and e-commerce, oil and gas, and agriculture.

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 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 – free and now available in Spanish – to track hours and pay.

This news release is also available in Spanish.

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.