TULSA, OK – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment and injunction to recover $72,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for 20 workers whose Oklahoma employer misapplied the agriculture exemption to retail workers and did not pay overtime to employees who worked more than 40 hours per week regularly. 

Entered by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, the Oct. 18, 2024, judgment against Robert K. Cook, III, operator of Rob’s Sod Inc., and Cook’s Farmland Enterprises LLC, operating as Green Acre Sod Farm, Green Acre Sod & Landscape Center and Enterprise Sod and Landscape Center at four locations in Grove, Lawton, Owasso and Stillwater, follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division.

 “Employers must be familiar with federal regulations that apply to their business and make certain that workers are paid as the Fair Labor Standards Act requires,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Michael Speer in Oklahoma City. “The Wage and Hour Division is determined to hold employers accountable when they fail to meet their legal obligations to pay employees fully for the work they do.”

Green Acre Sod Farm operates on 10,000 acres in Bixby and Haskell, Oklahoma, 6,000 acres on the Red River in Texas and 2,000 acres in Mount Vernon, Missouri. Green Acre Sod has 10 retail stores throughout Oklahoma and Missouri.

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. 

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PHOENIX – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a judgment in federal court ordering a drywall contractor in Arizona to pay more than $1.7 million in back wages and damages to 246 workers.

The action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division finding Bean Drywall Inc., a residential drywall contractor, paid the affected workers either straight-time rates or piece rates for all hours worked but failed to pay employees overtime rates required by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“Bean Drywall deliberately disguised the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars in wages earned by hundreds of employees,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Eric Murray in Phoenix. “This employer’s willful and deceitful acts were designed to cover-up their inexcusable behavior.”

In addition to requiring Bean Drywall to pay $875,000 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages, the judgment affirms $25,000 in civil money penalties the department assessed for the employer’s willful violations and forbids the contractor from future FLSA violations.

“Unfortunately, our investigations too often find construction employers engaged in illegal schemes to deny workers their hard-earned wages, obstruct enforcement agencies and gain an unfair advantage over their law-abiding competitors,” Murray added. “Since 2019, the Wage and Hour Division has recovered millions of dollars in back wages and damages owed to thousands of Arizona’s construction industry 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 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.

Su v. Bean Drywall, Inc., Michael N. Bean 

Editor's note: This news release has been corrected to remove the names of two individuals who were erroneously listed as defendants in the case. 

Employer:      Faurecia Emissions Control Technologies USA Inc.

                             Fort Wayne, Indiana

Actions:          Fair Labor Standards Act investigation

Findings:        Faurecia Emissions Control Technologies USA Inc., operating as Faurecia Clean Mobility, agreed to pay a total of $101,126 to 260 employees – representing $50,563 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages – for shortchanging workers overtime wages. 

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found from the company violated federal law by failing to the following:

• Include hourly shift differentials into employees’ regular rate of pay when calculating overtime. 
• Maintain accurate payroll records to reflect the correct overtime pay for non-exempt employees.
• Display any federal labor posters.

Headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Faurecia Emissions Control Technologies USA Inc. is a vehicle exhaust systems manufacturer that produces combustion engines and emissions control systems. 

Quotes: “When employers calculate an employee’s hourly rate for the purposes of overtime, they must include shift differentials and non-discretionary bonuses into that calculation,” said Wage and Hour District Director Aaron Loomis in Indianapolis. “Employers or workers with questions on how to accurately calculate wages due should contact the Wage and Hour Division for compliance assistance.”

Background: Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including the Workers Owed Wages 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 offers multiple compliance assistance resources, including the EMPLEO alliance a, collaboration of community and nongovernmental organizations, including state, local, and federal agencies and Hispanic consulates that provides information and assistance to Spanish-speaking employees and employers regarding workplace rights and responsibilities. Workers and employers can reach EMPLEO by calling (877) 522-9832 or (877) 55-AYUDA.

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

Employer:                          Central Park Family Restaurant Inc.

                                                7657 State Road 54 

                                                New Port Richey, FL 34653

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found the restaurant required employees to purchase a uniform shirt, which caused their average weekly wages to fall below the federal minimum wage, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. They also found Central Park used the cash wage rather than the higher Florida state minimum wage to compute servers overtime rate and the employer incorrectly classified some kitchen staff as exempt from overtime. By doing so, the restaurant paid these nonexempt employees a flat weekly salary and did not pay them time and a half for hours worked over 40, a violation of the FLSA overtime requirements. 

Back wages and liquidated damages recovered: The division recovered $87,118 in back wages and liquidated damages for 21 workers.                                                

Quote: “Paying a salary does not automatically excuse employers from their obligation to pay employees required overtime wages. Failure to pay overtime correctly continues to be a common violation among restaurant industry employers,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Nicolas Ratmiroff in Tampa, Florida. “Employers who are unsure of their legal obligations should contact their local Wage and Hour Division office for assistance.”

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

Employer:      Lincoln Retirement Villa LLC

                        41040 Lincoln Street

                        Fremont, CA 94538         

Investigation findings: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found the assisted living facility for seniors failed to properly account and pay for all overtime hours worked by 20 employees, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The employer also did not keep accurate payroll records as required by the act.

Wages, Damages Recovered:   $68,672 in back wages for 20 workers 

                                                   $68,672 in liquidated damages for 20 workers

                                                   $8,330 in civil money penalties due to the willful nature of violations

Quote: “Lincoln Retirement Villa not only knowingly underpaid its employees, but the employer made it a systemic business practice,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Francisco Ocampo in San Jose, California. “The Department of Labor will remain vigilant against labor abuses and exploitation by players in this highly problematic industry that employ some of the most vulnerable workers to perform the important work of caring for seniors.”

Background: The violations found in this case exemplify labor compliance problems in the broader healthcare industry. In fiscal year 2024, the department’s Wage and Hour Division conducted more than 2,300 investigations and recovered more than $37.8 million in back wages for nearly 30,000 workers nationwide. 

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. 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. 

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OXFORD, MS – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment that prevents a Tunica fish farm and processing plant from retaliating against their workers and interfering with federal investigations of their employment practices. 

In August 2023, investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found Battle Fish North and Magnolia Processing Inc. allegedly tried to hide evidence, provide false information and interrupt communications with witnesses in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The division also determined Battle Fish North, Magnolia Processing and representatives of the companies told employees they did not have to speak with investigators and threatened retaliation against them if they refused to mislead investigators intentionally. Specifically, the investigation found company managers threatened workers with physical harm, deportation or firing if they communicated honestly, or at all, with investigators.

Granted by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, the judgment forbids the employers from retaliating against workers and interfering with investigations.  

“The court has drawn a clear line in the sand: No worker should fear retaliation from their employer, and no employer should mistakenly believe they can interfere with a federal investigation without consequences,” explained Regional Solicitor Tremelle Howard in Atlanta. “Intimidating and threating workers is reprehensible, and we will do everything within our power, including litigation, to ensure employers are held accountable.”

The department also obtained an injunction against Battle Fish North, Magnolia Processing and their agents requiring them to read a statement of rights to H-2A temporary agricultural workers annually for three years and to conduct training of senior officials covering the rights of H-2A workers to ensure compliance with the law.

“The Wage and Hour Division is committed to fostering an environment in which workers are safe from retaliation for asserting their rights and speaking up during our investigations,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Audrey Hall in Jackson, Mississippi. “Protecting workers from retaliation is a top priority of the agency. Working with the department’s legal team, we stopped this misconduct in its tracks.”  

The division offers confidential compliance assistance to anyone – regardless of where they are from – with questions about their wages or how to stay in compliance 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. 

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division. 

SAN DIEGO – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered more than $1.4 million for 36 Mexican engineers employed in San Diego by a subsidiary of General Dynamics Corp., one of the world’s largest defense contractors, that paid them in Mexican pesos below the federal minimum wage rate in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. - one of three shipyards in the Marine Systems group of General Dynamics that designs and builds auxiliary and support ships for the U.S. Navy - used the L-1B visa program to bring the affected workers to San Diego from a General Dynamics subsidiary in Mexicali, Mexico, to install power plants, engines and machinery; complete structures and finish and furnish ships’ interiors. 

The division’s investigators learned NASSCO paid the engineers in pesos at Mexican pay rates to work an average of 42 hours or more weekly. They also determined the employer wrongfully treated the traveling workers’ per diem and lodging costs as wages and did not maintain accurate time records for them. Investigators found that NASSCO owed the 36 engineers $719,135 in unpaid minimum and overtime wages, plus an equal amount in liquidated damages. 

“General Dynamics NASSCO brought these specialized workers from Mexico to San Diego to build vessels for the U.S. Navy but failed to follow the federal wage regulations that protect anyone working in the U.S.,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Min Park-Chung in San Diego. “The Wage and Hour Division works closely with the Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego to educate Mexican nationals about their rights as workers in the U.S. and ensure those who employ them understand and comply with the law.”

In addition to paying the engineers their back wages and damages, NASSCO signed an enhanced compliance agreement that bars them from future federal labor law violations and requires they train employees who manage and supervise foreign workers with non-immigrant visas. NASSCO must provide notice to employees of their rights under FLSA and the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act. 

The L-1B visa program enables employers to transfer professional employees with specialized knowledge from one of their affiliated foreign offices to their U.S. offices.

NASSCO is headquartered in San Diego and operates shipyards in Norfolk, Virginia; and Bremerton, Washington; and Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida. Its parent company, General Dynamics, is an aerospace and defense contractor employing more than 100,000 people worldwide and generated $42.3 billion in revenue in 2023. 

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 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.

Employer:      Liberty Hill Equity Partners LLC 

                              559 Liberty Hill

                              Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

Locations:      Precision Vehicle Holdings LLC

                             4401 Fletcher St.

                             Wayne, MI 48160

                             5402 Moller Road (Fort Wayne Rail Yard)

                             Fort Wayne, IN 46806

Investigation findings: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Liberty Hill Equity Partners LLC, the Cincinnati-based operator of Precision Vehicle Holdings in Michigan and the Fort Wayne Rail Yard in Indiana, did not include non-discretionary bonuses in employees’ regular rate of pay when calculating overtime pay, a violation of Fair Labor Standards Act. The company provides logistics and terminal operations for newly manufactured vehicles.

Division investigators identified the employer’s violation when reviewing payroll records for employees in Michigan and Indiana and have since expanded the investigation to include all hourly nonexempt employees at 10 of the company’s locations in Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.

Liberty Hill Equity Partners LLC traces its beginnings to the Hatfield Coal Company, founded in 1882. The company later became River Trading Company, a holding company, in 2014 and began adding new businesses. In 2019, the company rebranded as Liberty Hill Equity Partners LLC.

Resolution: The company paid a total of $56,884, representing $28,442 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages for 234 employees. 

Quote: “Inaccurate overtime calculations are among the most common violations identified in our investigations. Employers can avoid the costly consequences of their errors by contacting the Wage and Hour Division for assistance or by reviewing our overtime compliance assistance materials online,” explained Wage and Hour District Director Aaron Loomis in Indianapolis.

Background: Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, overtime pay, 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.

ATLANTA – Working more than 40 hours a week, a woman providing care to people with disabilities in Augusta thought her employer should be paying her overtime wages. In time, she found the courage to contact the U.S. Department of Labor and soon learned her hunch was worth $11,000 in back wages.

Unfortunately, workers deprived of their full legal wages - either by an employer’s mistake or intention - are all too common, especially in industries like healthcare.

In an effort to educate employers, workers and others in the Southeast’s care industries, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is offering an online panel conversation on Nov. 20 to discuss rights, protections and obligations for workers and employers in the home care and nursing care industries. The event will be presented in coordination with the department’s Women’s Bureau, and will include representatives from OSHA, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the IRS. The conversation coincides with National Home Care and Hospice Month in November.

“Caring for those who care: Compliance tips for the home health and nursing care industries” is part of an ongoing education and enforcement initiative designed to improve compliance among employers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Open to the public, participants will discuss federal protections governing employment of care industry workers, offer compliance tips and share free resources. Attendance is free, but registration is required.

“Our ability to provide care for our nation’s most vulnerable people relies on truly dedicated workers whose concern and expertise demands they be paid all of their hard-earned wages,” said Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Juan Coria in Atlanta. “Unfortunately, care workers are some of the most vulnerable and underpaid workers in the U.S., which is why the U.S. Department of Labor is committed to ensuring care workers receive all of the wages they have earned.” 

In fiscal year 2024, the Wage and Hour Division concluded nearly 400 investigations in healthcare industries and recovered more than $4.1 million in back wages and liquidated damages for over 2,400 workers in the Southeast. In addition, the division assessed more than $115,000 in civil money penalties to healthcare employers in the Southeast region to address violations found. 

The initiative focuses resources on educating care workers and their communities about their rights to minimum wage and overtime pay and how to file a complaint if they believe their rights have been violated. It also targets the misclassification of workers as independent contractors, a common illegal practice that leads to workers being deprived of legally earned wages and other protections.

“This presentation is just one part of our ongoing work to reduce wage violations and address misclassification of workers as independent contractors in care industries. For those unable to attend, we remind everyone that many compliance resources are just a few clicks away online. These tools are available at no cost to employers and workers. If needed, our staff and outreach professionals are also ready to assist,” Coria added. 

Register for “Caring for those who care: Compliance tips for the home health and nursing care industries.”

While this presentation will not be recorded, the division offers multiple compliance assistance resources to help employers avoid violations. For information about laws enforced by the division, use the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). The division will confidentially address questions – regardless of where workers are from – and the division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. 

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division and its searchable workers owed wages database. Help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and iOS Timesheet App for free, available in English or Spanish.

SACRAMENTO, CA – More than 700,000 people work to provide essential home health or personal care to older adults, people with disabilities or special needs in California and, despite their dedication to others’ needs, federal investigators find too many industry employers deceptively denying these hard-working people their full and rightful wages under the law. 

The problem extends to the broader healthcare industry where more than 2,300 investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $37.8 million in back wages for nearly 30,000 workers nationwide in fiscal year 2024. The division also assessed employers with more than $2.8 million in penalties for violations of federal labor regulations.

Just weeks into the new fiscal year 2025, the division is announcing the combined recovery of $863,860 in back wages and damages for 58 workers employed by four residential care providers in California that denied them minimum wage, overtime or both, and violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“Make no mistake, the Department of Labor is committed to stopping the exploitation of workers by residential care industry employers and holding them accountable for their unscrupulous employment practices,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Cesar Avila in Sacramento. “Our investigations find many of care workers harmed are women and low-wage earners, who can least afford to be denied their full wages.”

Specifically, the recoveries were made after investigations of the following employers:

• Brisbane Guest Home Inc., a residential care provider for persons with developmental disabilities with three locations in Stockton, failed to pay workers required overtime pay for hours over 40 in a workweek. The division recovered $483,185 in wages for 11 workers and assessed $7,546 in penalties.
• The owner of six residential care facilities for the elderly in the Sacramento region did not pay overtime wages owed to 44 employees at Laguna Village RCFE, Laguna Springs RCFE and Signature Living on Lavelli Way in Elk Grove; Havenwood RCFE and Capital Senior Care in Sacramento; and Signature Living RCFE in Rancho Cordova. In addition to recovering $306,066 in back wages and damages for the workers, the division assessed $18,326 in penalties.
• Jackson’s Facilities Inc., an adult home care provider also in Sacramento, failed to pay one employee for all hours worked, made illegal deductions not specified in the contract and denied overtime pay for hours over 40 in a workweek. The division recovered $46,623 in back wages in this case.
• Timeless Homecare Inc., a home healthcare provider for individuals with disabilities that operates as Amada Senior Care in Davis, paid some but not all overtime due to two employees for hours over 40 in a workweek. The division recovered $27,986 in wages and damages and assessed $2,058 in penalties.

These investigations are part of a wider effort by the division to hold violators accountable and to provide outreach and education to employers, workers and other stakeholders to raise awareness and prevent violations. To assist employers, the division offers many compliance assistance resources to ensure lawful employment practices.

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 a complaint. For confidential compliance assistance, workers 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 division’s Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices – available in English and Spanish – to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

This news release is also available in Tagalog.