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

What:             Fair Labor Standards Act webinar for hotel industry employers, workers

When:            May 11, 2023, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT  

Where:           Online webinar, registration is required.

Background: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division will mark the 40th anniversary of National Travel and Tourism Week by offering a webinar on federal regulations governing workers’ wages and benefits and employers’ responsibilities for those in hotels, motels and hospitality staffing agencies in the Southeast. The event will provide information on the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping provisions.

In fiscal year 2022, the division resolved more than 500 cases related to hotel and motel operators in the U.S. and recovered more than $4.6 million in back wages for more than 3,000 workers.

Quote: “Traditionally, people in the hospitality industry work long hours doing hard jobs and they must be paid fully for all the hours they work,” said Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Juan Coria in Atlanta. “They provide critical labor that allows industry employers to be profitable and enable guests to enjoy their accommodations. We’ve designed this webinar to meet the tourism industry’s unique needs in the hope that we can educate industry leaders and employers — including staffing agencies — on their legal responsibilities, and also help workers understand how we safeguard their wages and benefits.”

Employer:   APDC Cleaning Services Inc.

                     5824 Precision Drive, Orlando, FL 32819

Investigation findings: Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that a Florida hotel staffing company failed to combine hours worked by 100 employees at several locations paying them 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:        

$57,177 in back overtime wages

$57,177 in liquidated damages                                               

Quote: “The hard work done by hospitality industry workers allows guests to enjoy their accommodations. Often, they work long hours and deserve to be paid all their legally earned wages, including overtime,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Wildalí De Jesús in Orlando, Florida. “When employees work at more than one location, their employers must combine hours worked at all locations to calculate overtime wages properly. The Wage Hour Division is committed to safeguarding workers’ rights to get paid their rightfully earned wages.”

Background: Operating at 19 hotels in Florida, Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina, APDC Cleaning Services Inc. provides workers for various jobs, including cleaning and maintenance positions at hotels and other hospitality worksites.

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.

To help employers in the hospitality industry avoid FLSA violations, the department’s division will hold a webinar during National Tourism Week on May 11 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT. The webinar is free, but registration is required. 

Employers and workers can call the division confidentially with questions regardless of their immigration status. 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 android devices, available in English and Spanish, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

LYNDHURST, NJ – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment in a federal court in New Jersey to recover $910,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for 289 employees of a Lyndhurst staffing agency whose pay practices deprived them of hard-earned overtime wages.

The court action follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that determined Advantix Logistics Corp. and owner Michael Mortorano paid warehouse employees a combination of hourly and piece rates but did not include an overtime premium for hours over 40 in a workweek. The work of the employees the agency provided included loading and unloading freight from containers and pallets for upwards of 70 hours per week at warehouses. The employer also failed to keep accurate records of employees’ hours worked. These actions violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“Our investigation found that Advantix Logistics Corp.’s pay practices shortchanged nearly 300 people employed by the staffing agency,” explained Wage and Hour District Director Paula Ruffin in Mountainside, New Jersey. “Employers must pay employees all of their rightfully earned wages or face costly consequences when they don’t. We encourage employers to contact us with questions or concerns about their pay practices.”

The consent judgment and order entered in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey requires the company and its owner to pay $455,000 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages.

“This consent judgment makes clear to all staffing agency employers that, like Advantix Logistics Corp., they will be held accountable if they fail to pay employees their legally earned wages,” said Solicitor of Labor Jeffrey Rogoff in New York. “The U.S. Department of Labor is prepared to use every tool available, including litigation, to prevent employers from violating workers’ rights.”

In November 2022, the department secured a separate consent judgment that required Advantix Logistics to pay $65,000 in damages to a former employee. An investigation by the division determined that the staffing agency fired the worker after they complained about not getting paid for all of their hours worked.

The division’s Northern New Jersey District Office conducted the investigation. Trial Attorney Amanda Wilmsen of the Office of the Solicitor in New York litigated the case and negotiated the settlement.

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 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.

Employer:                       The Heart and Medical Center                                     

Investigation sites:    2701 W. University Blvd.

                                              Durant, OK 74701                                  

Investigation findings: Investigator with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found the employer paid only the first 40 hours worked per week, and did not accurately record the hours worked over 40 to avoid paying its healthcare workers time and a half for overtime hours. The employer also failed to pay for missed lunch breaks that were automatically deducted from workers’ time. By doing so, the employer violated recordkeeping and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Back Wages and Damages: $22,728 in back wages and equal amount in liquidated damages for 25 workers                                               

Quote: “Unfortunately, the violations in this case are common in the healthcare industry. The Heart and Medical Center failed to pay employees for missed lunch breaks and denied them pay for overtime hours. When employers deprive workers of their full wages, they make it harder for them to care for themselves and their families,” said Wage and Hour District Director Michael Speer in Oklahoma City. “The U.S. Department of Labor is working with the healthcare industry nationally to educate employers to get workers paid properly and to help employers avoid the costly consequences of violating the law.”

Background: Employers can contact the Wage and Hour Division at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE. The division also offers numerous online resources for employers, such as a fact sheet on the Fair Labor Standards Act overtime requirements. 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. Workers and employers alike can help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android Timesheet App for free.

Learn more about Wage and Hour Division.

GARY, IN – Like all first responders, firefighters employed by the City of Gary must be ready to respond when and wherever needed. In general, they work a 106-hour schedule at fire stations every two weeks in shifts sometimes lasting 24 hours or longer. When duty forces them to exceed their typical schedules, federal law requires their employer to pay overtime wages at time-and-one-half their hourly rates.

A recent investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division that found the city failed to compensate as many as 172 firefighters and paramedics fully has recovered a total of $672,502 in back overtime wages for these employees.

“When duty calls, first responders are expected to put the lives of others before theirs. Our investigation found the City of Gary failed to compensate these firefighters and paramedics as the law requires,” explained Acting Wage and Hour Division District Director Fernando Hernandez in Indianapolis. “Like all employers, states and local governments must understand the rules that apply to their employees and pay them properly.”

Division investigators reviewed payroll records from March 8, 2020 to March 7, 2022, and learned firefighters often worked up to 120 hours every two weeks but did not receive additional compensation for hours worked over 106. Investigators determined the city owed 154 firefighters a total of $319,237 in overtime wages.

The investigation also found the city owed 18 paramedics a total of $353,265 in overtime back wages. The division found the city believed incorrectly that paramedics, like firefighters, could work up to 106 hours per two-week period before overtime compensation was owed. In fact, since the paramedics did not perform fire suppression work, they were due overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek.

View the FLSA fact sheet on overtime regulations for firefighters.

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 Apple devices, free and also available in Spanish, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

HONOLULU – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $101,694 in back wages and liquidated damages from the owners of a Honolulu restaurant who denied full wages to 10 chefs — many of whom worked as many as 20 hours of overtime each week — by illegally excluding them from overtime compensation.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found Keiji Fukuda and Yuki Naka – owners of Imanas Tei restaurant – denied the restaurant’s salaried chefs overtime pay by characterizing their primary work inaccurately as management rather than as meal preparers. By doing so, Fukuda and Naka failed to pay lawfully entitled overtime wages to the chefs for hours over 40 in a workweek, Fair Labor Standards Act violation.

In addition, the division learned Fukuda and Naka failed to keep records of all hours worked, including overtime hours, which led to federal recordkeeping violations.

“Overtime earned must be overtime paid,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Terrence Trotter in Honolulu. “Paying salaries to frontline kitchen staff does not allow an employer like Imanas Tei to evade its obligation to pay workers all of their legally earned wages.”

In addition to recovering back wages and damages, the division assessed $4,488 in civil money penalties for the willful nature of the violations. In fiscal year 2022, the Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $27.1 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 also 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 Android and iOS devices, to ensure hours and pay are accurate. 

WESTBURY, NY - El Departamento de Trabajo de EE. UU. ha recuperado más de $333,000 en salarios atrasados y daños y perjuicios para 51 personas empleadas en una empresa de mantenimiento de Long Island que emitía cheques por separado para sus empleados para ocultar que la empresa no pagaba los salarios por horas extras cuando lo requería la ley.

Quienes investigaron para la División de Horas y Salarios del departamento determinaron que el personal trabajaba 80 horas por semana o más, pero, en general, Professional Building Maintenance Corp. y su propietario Brady Patruno les pagó tarifas planas por hora en vez de pagarles por las horas extras trabajadas por sobre las 40 en una semana laboral.

Específicamente, la empresa y Patruno pagaba al personal que trabajaba horas extras en un periodo de pago emitiendo más de un cheque, uno de la cuenta de nómina de pago de la empresa por las primeras 40 horas o menos de trabajo, y un segundo cheque de otra cuenta por las horas extras. Sin embargo, la empresa no pagó la tarifa por horas extras obligatoria por las horas trabajadas por sobre las 40 horas en una semana de trabajo. La empresa emitió cheques por horas extras con tarifas planas por hora ya sea mediante una cuenta bancaria empresarial secundaria y/o mediante una empresa fantasma que Professional Building Maintenance Corp. hizo pasar como subcontratista.

La oficina regional de procuración obtuvo una orden de búsqueda administrativa y ayudó a la división para obtener unas citaciones bancarias de terceros para obtener los registros de nómina de pago y canceló los cheques que revelaron la estafa al personal.

La investigación recuperó $166,702 en salarios atrasados y un monto equivalente en concepto de daños y perjuicios, y llevó al departamento a imponer $15,432 en multas civiles por la naturaleza deliberada de las violaciones según la Ley de Normas Justas de Trabajo.

"Las empresas que crean erróneamente que pueden desestimar la ley y negar a su personal los salarios que se han esforzado por ganar enfrentarán consecuencias considerables cuando se descubran sus acciones ilegales", dijo el director distrital de la División de Horas y Salarios, David An, en Westbury, Nueva York. "El personal que tenga preguntas sobre sus derechos y responsabilidades según la ley federal debería sentirse libre de contactar a la División de Horas y Salarios".

La FLSA requiere que la mayoría del personal en Estados Unidos reciba un pago de al menos el salario mínimo federal por todas las horas trabajadas y el pago de horas extras con una tarifa requerida no menor al tiempo y medio por todas las horas trabajadas que excedan las 40 en una semana laboral.

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. Las empresas y las personas empleadas pueden llamar a la división de forma confidencial para hacer preguntas sin importar de dónde provienen. 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). Descargue la nueva Aplicación Timesheet de la agencia para dispositivos IOS y Android (también disponible en español) a fin de garantizar que las horas trabajadas y la remuneración sean exactas.

Lea el comunicado en ingles.

WESTBURY, NY – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered more than $333,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for 51 employees of a Long Island maintenance company that issued separate checks to workers to mask the company’s failure to pay overtime wages when required by law.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined that employees worked as many as 80 hours per week or more but, typically, Professional Building Maintenance Corp. and owner Brady Patruno paid them straight-time hourly rates instead of paying overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek.

Specifically, the company and Patruno paid employees working overtime hours in a pay period by issuing more than one check, one from the company’s payroll account for the first 40 or fewer hours of work and a second check from another account for overtime hours. However, the employer, did not pay the required overtime rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. The company issued checks for overtime hours at straight-time hourly rates either from a second company bank account and/or from straw corporations that Professional Building Maintenance Corp. passed off as subcontractors.

The department’s Regional Office of the Solicitor obtained an administrative search warrant and assisted the division in obtaining third-party bank subpoenas to get the payroll records and canceled checks that revealed the employers’ scheme.

The investigation recovered $166,702 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages and led the department to assess $15,432 in civil money penalties because of the willful nature of the violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“Employers who wrongly believe they can disregard the law and deprive workers of their hard-earned wages will face significant consequences when their illegal actions are discovered,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director David An in Westbury, New York. “Workers and employers with questions about their rights and responsibilities under federal law should feel free to contact the Wage and Hour Division.”

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 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 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.

SANTA MARIA, CA – A federal investigation has found the owner and operator of five central California residential care homes denied overtime wages to 42 caregivers by requiring them to sign away their rights to overtime in exchange for an extra $1 per hour worked and creating a second payroll to hide the fraud.

Investigators from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division determined Santa Maria-based Bauer Residential Inc. and its president, Mihaela Bauer, took deliberate steps to avoid paying the overtime rate of time and one-half for hours over 40 in a workweek, as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. They also learned Bauer made employees sign an agreement to forego the overtime rate and accept just $1 more per hour over their regular pay.

“Too often, the Wage and Hour Division finds employers of care workers taking advantage of people who provide essential care to those in need,” said Wage and Hour Division Assistant District Director Eduardo Huerta in Los Angeles. “Bauer Residential Inc.’s flagrant denial of overtime pay to 42 employees violated their rights to be paid fully and legally under federal law. An employer cannot force an employee to give up their legally protected wages in any manner, including by signing a form.”

Investigators also learned the employer failed to keep accurate records of employees’ hours worked and created separate timesheets for some employees, resulting in additional recordkeeping violations.

In total, the division recovered $545,655 in back wages and liquidated damages for the affected caregivers, whose payments in back wages and damages ranged from $124 to $22,477. The division also assessed — and Bauer Residential Inc. has paid — $24,402 in civil money penalties for the employer’s willful violations.

“Our investigation recovered hard-earned wages for dozens of workers who dedicate themselves to caring for others and held their employer to account for illegal pay practices,” Huerta added.

The investigation included all five of Bauer Residential Inc.’s locations in Santa Maria at 943 Sunrise Drive, 3842 Mira Loma Drive, 1910 Olive Drive and 572 Inger Drive; and Nipomo at 890 Prosperity Way. Founded in 2003, the company operates assisted living and adult residential care homes.

In fiscal year 2022, the division recovered $14.9 million in back wages for more than 22,000 workers across the nation in the healthcare industry, known for both low wages and high rates of violations. As the U.S. population ages and demand for healthcare services increases, employment in a variety of healthcare sectors is projected to grow 13 percent from 2021 to 2031 – faster than the average for all occupations – adding about 2 million new jobs. 

The division enforces the law regardless of a worker’s immigration status and can speak confidentially with callers in more than 200 languages. For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, 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.

Employer:     

Dyersburg Grecian Steakhouse Inc., operating as Grecian Steakhouse

2265 St. John Ave.

Dyersburg, TN 38024

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor investigators found Grecian Steakhouse paid some employees straight-time rates for all hours worked. By doing so, the employer failed to pay the employees the time-and-a-half rate for hours over 40 in a workweek, a Fair Labor Standards Act violation. Grecian Steakhouse also paid one cook a weekly salary but failed to pay the worker an overtime premium for hours over 40 in a workweek. The employer also failed to keep records of employees’ hours worked, another FLSA violation.

Back wages and liquidated damages owed to workers:    $110,790 to 19 employees.

Quote: “When it comes to paying workers overtime, the law is very clear and leaves no excuse for an employer to shortchange workers of their lawfully earned wages,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Lisa Kelly in Nashville, Tennessee. “The division offers many resources online to explain employers’ obligations and workers’ rights. We also welcome calls or emails to our local offices to provide additional information.”

Background: In fiscal year 2022, the Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $27.1 million for more than 22,000 workers in the food service industry. 

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. 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. Workers and employers alike can help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android Timesheet App for free, which is available in English and Spanish.