ST. PETERSBURG, FL – Federal investigators have found that two St. Petersburg restaurants withheld tips earned by bartenders and servers to pay for customers who skipped out on their bills, illegally charged employees for uniforms and denied some workers required minimum wage and full overtime pay.

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division determined the commonly owned businesses – Red Mesa Inc., operating as Red Mesa Restaurant, and Veytia Ventures LLC, operating as Red Mesa Cantina – violated several provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The division recovered $190,730 in back wages and liquidated damages for 89 affected workers as a result of its investigation.

Specifically, the division found the employers did the following:

• Withheld bartenders and servers’ tips to cover the cost of customer walkouts, which ranged from $10 to $175 per day.
• Deducted the cost of uniforms from employees’ wages which led some workers to be paid less than minimum wage.
• Paid an incorrect overtime rate to tipped employees and failed to combine hours when these employees worked at both restaurants in the same workweek. By doing so, the restaurants paid overtime at rates lower than required by law for hours over 40 in a workweek and failed to pay for all overtime hours in some workweeks.
• Paid kitchen staff straight time regardless of how many hours they worked. By doing so, the employer failed to pay them the additional half-time rate required for overtime hours.
• Failed to log workers’ hours in payroll records correctly which kept some workers off payroll records.

“By law, two or more establishments that are commonly owned are considered a single enterprise. In this case, the employer assigned employees to work at two locations they owned. They should have added the hours worked at these locations together and paid overtime when the combined hours exceeded 40 hours in the same workweek,” explained Wage and Hour District Director Nicolas Ratmiroff in Tampa, Florida. “Operating restaurants with the same owners under different corporate names does not remove that liability. Employers are responsible for understanding and complying with federal laws regarding pay practices.”

Wage and Hour Division investigators recovered more than $27 million for more than 22,500 workers in the food service industry in fiscal year 2022.

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 – 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.

Read this news release En Español.

GLENDALE, AZ – The U.S. Department of Labor is currently distributing more than $700,000 in back wages and damages to 470 employees, recovered from a Glendale plastering company following an investigation and lawsuit related to the employer’s pay practices.

On Jan. 19, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona entered a consent judgment that requires Palo Verde Plastering Inc. to pay overtime back wages and liquidated damages to affected employees. The employer paid workers “by the yard,” denied them overtime and repeatedly told them they were not entitled to it and falsified their books by assigning wages earned to “phantom” employees to avoid paying overtime.

The action follows a 2021 investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that began with a review of the company’s payroll records. Palo Verde Plastering Inc. violated federal law by paying employees straight time for hours over 40 in a workweek that should have been paid an overtime premium rate. Investigators also found the company did not maintain accurate pay records, as required.

After their initial findings, investigators alleged that the employer agreed to pay hourly wages and overtime in November 2021, but then continued to violate the law until at least March 2022.

The court also affirmed $23,787 in civil money penalties assessed by the department to Palo Verde Plastering for its willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“Palo Verde Plastering deliberately tried to evade the law by instructing employees that piece-rate employees are not owed overtime wages without regard to their hours worked, and then intentionally did not record all hours worked and wages earned to avoid paying overtime,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Eric Murray in Phoenix. “Employers who violate workers’ right to be paid their full wages may face costly consequences, including penalties for willful acts to cover-up their violations.”

The court order also requires Palo Verde to do the following:

• Change its payroll practices to comply with federal recordkeeping regulations.
• Update its timekeeping system and immediately comply with the FLSA.
• Hire a third party to conduct training for all of supervisors, managers and others with payroll duties on federal requirements.
• Amend its corporate handbook and provide FLSA information to all employees.

“Hundreds of workers – many who worked on new home construction in Maricopa County – will now receive unpaid wages and damages, ranging from $42 to more than $7,000 per worker. These rightfully earned wages will make a big impact in the daily lives of many,” Murray added. “The Wage and Hour Division encourages workers to contact us if they believe their employer is not paying them all of their earned wages.”

Current or former Palo Verde Plastering employees can contact the division’s Phoenix District Office confidentially and regardless of immigrations status for more information by phone at 602-407-5323, or email: whdvm.phoenixvwp@dol.gov.

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.

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

Walsh v. Palo Verde Plastering Inc.

U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona

CV-23-00098-PHX-SMM

Lea en Español

ALBANY, NY – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $166,832 for 53 employees of a Little Falls roofing contractor to resolve overtime and recordkeeping violations found by investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division.

Division investigators determined Lakeside Roofing & Contracting LLC – operating as Lakeside Kanga Roof – paid straight time for travel time and all hours over 40 in a workweek, did not record work hours accurately and failed to include commissions and bonuses when calculating hourly rates of pay for overtime, all violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The company also did not display a poster summarizing workers’ FLSA protections, as the law requires.

Kanga Roof’s owner told investigators that they didn't consider the workers to be independent contractors or employees because each worker “buys into” the company when hired and becomes a “member” of the corporation and, thus, weren't entitled to overtime. However, the investigation determined the workers to be company employees per the FLSA and entitled to the law’s protections.

“Paying employees straight-time rates for overtime hours worked and incorrectly calculating hourly rates of pay when determining wages deprive workers of the hard-earned wages they depend on to make ends meet,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jay Rosenblum in Albany, New York. “Employers must know and comply with wage and hour laws that apply to their employees to ensure they are paid correctly.”

The division’s Rochester Field Office of the Albany District Office conducted the investigation.

For information about laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions, regardless of where they are from, and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.

The Wage and Hour Division has a number of resources online for workers and employers, including an FLSA compliance toolkit. 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 iOS devices to ensure hours and pay are accurate. 

Employer:                                   North Sunflower Medical Center

Investigation site:                  840 N. Oak Ave.

                                                          Ruleville, MS 38771

Investigation findings: Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found the employer – a healthcare facility providing services to the Humphrey, Leflore and Sunflower tri-counties area – automatically deducted 30-minute lunch breaks from some employees’ hours without making sure they were free of work-related tasks and able to take the breaks. Investigators learned that, several times a week, some of the facility’s nurses need to work through lunch breaks to update patient records. By automatically deducting 30-minute lunch breaks, the employer failed to account for all the hours that the nurses worked, which led to violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime provisions.

The division also determined that North Sunflower Medical Center did not combine employees’ hours when they worked in different departments at the facility, and failed to use the total number of hours worked when calculating additional half-time rates owed to these employees. In addition, investigators found the employer failed to maintain an accurate record of hours worked for employees.

Back Wages Recovered: $201,436 for 110 workers.                                   

Quote: “Employers must combine all hours employees work at separate locations and pay overtime on the total number of hours worked,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Audrey Hall in Jackson, Mississippi. “The costly consequences that come with errors like these can be avoided with help from the Wage and Hour Division. Depriving healthcare workers their full wages makes it hard for them to care for themselves and their families. These people provide essential services to our community and must be paid every dollar they’ve earned.”

Background: Employers can contact the Wage and Hour Division at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE. The division also offers online resources for employers, such as a fact sheet on Fair Labor Standards Act wage laws overtime requirements. Workers who feel they may not be getting the wages they earned may contact a Wage and Hour Division expert 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 timesheet app for free.  Learn more about Wage and Hour Division.

Employer:                               ELJ Inc.

Investigation site:                  133 Batting Cage Trail

                                                 Jacksonville, NC 28540

Investigation findings: Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found the North Carolina general contractor misclassified its employees as independent contractors and paid straight-time rates for all hours worked. By doing so, ELJ Inc. failed to pay employees the additional half time rate of pay for overtime  hours over 40 in a workweek, which violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime requirements. The employer also failed to maintain accurate and complete records with employees’ Social Security numbers, addresses, rates of pay and total earnings.  

Back Wages and Liquidated Damages Recovered: $330,367 for 20 workers.                              

Quote: “Employers who misclassify employees as independent contractors deny them overtime wages and may deny them state-required workers compensation and unemployment insurance protections,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Richard Blaylock in Raleigh, North Carolina. “The Wage and Hour Division is determined to hold employers accountable when they shortchange workers and gain an unfair competitive advantage. We suggest that employers review their pay practices to make sure their practices comply with the law, and to contact us with questions or concerns.”

Background: Employers can contact the Wage and Hour Division at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE. The division also offers online resources for employers, such as a fact sheet on Fair Labor Standards Act wage laws overtime requirements and a compliance assistance toolkit for the Construction Industry. 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.

ATLANTA – With a nearly $1 million annual increase in back wages recovered in the Southeast for agricultural industry workers in calendar year 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is continuing its multi-year initiative to educate industry employers about compliance, and workers about their legal protections under federal law.

In addition to the initiative’s compliance outreach and education components, the division will continue its enforcement efforts in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

In 2022, investigators with the division’s Southeast Region identified violations in 85 percent of the approximately 220 completed investigations of agricultural employers. Their reviews found employers owed more than $2.6 million in back wages to nearly 2,900 workers and led the division to assess more than $1.7 million in civil money penalties. The division also debarred seven Southeast growers and farm labor contractors from participation in the H-2A agricultural guest worker program.

“Most agricultural industry workers spend long hours on their feet, exposed to all kinds of weather as they do the hard work needed to put food on our tables, yet they are some of the country’s lowest paid workers,” said Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Juan Coria in Atlanta. “When unscrupulous employers try to increase their profits at the expense of workers’ dignity, respect and – in some cases – freedom, the Wage and Hour Division will use every available tool to hold these employers accountable.”

As part of the initiative, the division and industry stakeholders will partner to instill greater industry awareness and provide tools to improve compliance. As the growing season approaches, the division will conduct vigorous investigations, inform workers and employers of their rights and responsibilities, and act to prevent violations of federal programs used by employers to find temporary, seasonal and migrant workers to meet labor demands. The division will host a virtual agriculture seminar for employers and workers on March 7 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST. Participation is free but registration is required.

“The Wage and Hour Division is committed to preventing abuses of the rights of agricultural workers in the Southeast, and will work with and call upon communities, stakeholders, government and non-governmental agencies to join our efforts to protect some of our nation’s most vulnerable workers,” Coria added.

The Department of Labor encourages recruiters, labor contractors, growers, processors, distributors, wholesalers and retailers to enlist in our campaign to protect workers and combat the kind of human trafficking that led to a recent criminal prosecution in Florida.

On Dec. 29, 2022, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida sentenced Bladamir Moreno – a Bartow, Florida, farm labor contractor who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit forced labor and racketeering charges – to 118 months in prison and to pay more than $175,000 in restitution to his victims. The court also debarred Moreno from participating in the H-2A temporary agricultural workers visa program and assessed penalties totaling $203,350, after the department and multiple agencies found that he subjected migrant farmworkers to forced labor, obstructed a federal investigation, intimidated witnesses and housed workers in unsafe and unhealthy living conditions.

Federal law empowers the division to suspend, revoke or withhold renewal of farm labor certificates for contractors that commit violations under the Migrant Seasonal Protection Act. Employers are encouraged to review the ineligible farm labor contractor and H-2A debarment lists prior to contracting for labor. The division offers compliance assistance resources, including an agriculture compliance assistance toolkit, employers can access the information they need to comply with the law.

For information about MSPA, H-2A and other laws enforced by the division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).

Read this news release En Español.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced it will publish a final rule to amend how the Adverse Effect Wage Rates for the H-2A program are set to improve the rates’ consistency and accuracy based on the work actually performed by these workers and to better prevent H-2A workers’ employment negatively affecting the wages of U.S. workers in similar positions.

The H-2A program allows employers to address temporary labor needs by employing foreign agricultural workers when a lack of U.S. workers for the positions exists, and as long as hiring non-U.S. workers does not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers in similar jobs. The program’s Adverse Effect Wage Rates is the wage below which there would be an adverse effect on the wages of U.S. workers.     

The department uses the data for field and livestock workers combined as reported by the Department of Agriculture’s Farm Labor Survey to set the Adverse Effect Wage Rate, but on a few occasions in recent years, the FLS has not been conducted. In December 2021, the department proposed using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey to set the Adverse Effect Wage Rate for field and livestock workers if the FLS is not available. At the same time, the department proposed that the Adverse Effect Wage Rates for all other H-2A job opportunities, such as when those occupations are not included in the FLS survey, be based on occupation-specific OEWS wage data to ensure accurate wage rates are offered and paid to workers performing more skilled jobs which command higher pay, such as supervisors of farmworkers, truck drivers and agricultural construction workers.

The final rule establishes the following methodology for determining Adverse Effect Wage Rates:

• The department will continue to use the average annual hourly wage as reported by the FLS for field and livestock workers, combined, occupations – which represent most agricultural jobs – for the state or region.

• For all other agricultural jobs, not represented adequately or reported by current FLS data, the department will use the statewide or national average annual hourly wages for the occupational classification reported by OEWS program.
• For job opportunities that cover more than one classification, the department will base adverse effect rates on the highest wage for the applicable occupations.

The Federal Register is scheduled to publish the final rule on Feb. 28.

ALBANY, NY – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation into two commonly owned Callicoon resorts’ pay and child labor practices was no vacation for the employers after investigators uncovered violations of federal regulations.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found Villa Roma Resort & Conference Center Inc. and Villa Roma Resort Lodges Inc. failed to pay correct overtime wages to tipped employees when it paid them time-and-a-half on their tipped wages and not on the higher New York state rate for hours over 40 hours in a workweek. The resorts also failed to include additional payments for commissions, bonuses and side jobs in calculating employees’ regular rate of pay.

The division recovered $40,691 for 56 employees to resolve the resorts’ Fair Labor Standards Act violations.

The investigation also determined the employers allowed 11 minors, aged 14-15 years old, to work more hours than allowed by federal law. Specifically, investigators identified several instances where young employees worked up to or past 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. The division assessed the resorts $9,542 in civil money penalties for its violations of child labor provisions of the FLSA.

“Villa Roma Resort & Conference Center Inc. and Villa Roma Resort Lodges Inc. could have easily prevented these violations with knowledge and due diligence,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Jay I. Rosenblum in Albany, New York. “With the approach of summer and additional employment opportunities for young people, we urge employers and workers alike to review the Wage and Hour Division’s extensive online compliance assistance toolkits and to contact our office with any questions about the Fair Labor Standards Act’s wage and child labor protections.”

Federal law bars employers from allowing minors under the age of 14 to work in most situations and only permits 14- and 15-year-old employees to work until 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day and not past 7 p.m., the remainder of the year. Additionally, they cannot work more than three hours on a school day (including Fridays), eight hours on a non-school day or more than 18 hours per week. To assist employers in avoiding violations, and inform young workers and their parents, the division has published its “Seven Child Labor Best Practices for Employers.”

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, 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 i-OS and Android devices, free and also available in Spanish -to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment that orders a Salinas labor contractor – who withheld final paychecks and transportation expenses – to hundreds of farmworkers to pay more than $460,000 in damages and penalties, following the department’s investigation and litigation.

The action by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California requires A. Oseguera Company Inc. and owners Antonio Oseguera and Hilda Oseguera Garibay to pay $410,606 in liquidated damages and $41,351 in travel and subsistence costs to 542 affected workers. Payment must be made within 150 days.

The court also affirmed the department’s assessment of $8,541 in civil money penalties for their violations. 

This consent judgment follows the recovery of $977,590 in wages by the department’s Wage and Hour Division from the company and its owners in December 2021. The affected workers are U.S. workers and workers hired under the H-2A temporary agricultural program.

Division investigators determined the employers’ missed payroll led to violations of the minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, and violations of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act and the  H-2A temporary agricultural program under the Immigration and Nationality Act. The A. Oseguera Company and its owners violated federal law by failing to:

• Pay workers at their required rate of pay.
• Pay outbound transportation and subsistence costs as the H-2A program requires.
• Keep accurate pay records.
• Satisfy the requirements of the job order.

“Agricultural workers do the hard work needed to feed our nation and those who employ them must meet federal wage and other requirements or face the consequences,” said Wage and Hour Regional Administrator Ruben Rosalez in San Francisco. “The U.S. Department of Labor’s investigation and litigation sends a signal to industry employers that we will not tolerate their failure to respect the dignity of workers and meet their legal responsibilities.”

In addition to the damages and penalties required, the consent judgment will hold A. Oseguera Company in contempt for any future violations of FLSA, MSPA or the H-2A regulations under the INA and automatically bar it and its owners from participating in the H-2A program for three years should they commit any other H-2A violations cited in the consent judgment. The judgment also requires A. Oseguera to hire a full-time monitor to oversee their H-2A and MSPA operations, significantly increase the sizes of their surety bonds and requires supervisors, foremen and payroll personnel to attend four trainings on the FLSA, MSPA and INA in the next two years. 

“For years, Antonio Oseguera and his company have ignored their obligations under the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program,” said Regional Solicitor Marc Pilotin in San Francisco. “The Solicitor’s Office will take every legal step necessary to protect the safety, well-being and wages of temporary guest workers. These steps may include seeking to use the power of a federal court to make employers to comply with the law and prevent them from hiring H-2A program workers.” 

A. Oseguera Company Inc. is an H-2A farm labor contractor that employs workers to harvest crops seasonally in and around Monterey, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties in California. The company also operates and has a satellite office in Yuma, Arizona. 

The division offers farmworker rights information,  compliance assistance resources for employers, an agriculture compliance assistance toolkit to ensure compliance with the law.

Employees and employers can also contact the Wage and Hour Division at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE. Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions – regardless of where they are from – and 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. Workers and employers alike can help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android Timesheet App – now available in Spanish – for free.

MANCHESTER, NH – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered more than $3.1 million in back wages and fringe benefits for more than 3,100 workers at a California subcontractor that provided enrollment and dental and vision benefits support to federal employees, retirees and their dependents.

An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined that Alorica Inc. in Irvine incorrectly paid workers prevailing wage rates and fringe benefit amounts less than those required by the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act. The wage shortages occurred between January 2017 and March 2022. 

“The Wage and Hour Division is committed to ensuring workers are paid the full wages and benefits they are rightfully due and that federal contractors are aware of their obligations under the Service Contact Act and comply with the law,” said Principal Deputy Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “The vigorous enforcement of prevailing wage laws promotes efficiency and productivity in government by allowing agencies to recruit and retain talented federal contract workers.”

Long Term Care Partners LLC, now operating as Fed Point, contracted with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to provide benefits enrollment and other customer services for federal employees. The Portsmouth, New Hampshire, company – which engaged Alorica as a subcontractor – paid $3,193,839 in back wages and fringe benefits to 3,174 employees to resolve the violations. Alorica agreed to audit its pay practices and computed the resulting prevailing wage and fringe benefit deficiencies owed its workers. 

Throughout the course of the investigation, LTCP cooperated and ultimately paid all back wages and benefits owed to its subcontractor’s employees.

“Violations under the Service Contract Act can be costly, as this case illustrates, but they are preventable with knowledge and due diligence,” explained Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Mark Watson in Philadelphia. “We strongly encourage federal contracting agencies and their service contractors to consult our extensive online resource materials and contact the division to answer any questions they may have about the Service Contract Act’s requirements.”

Current and former Alorica employees who worked on this contract and believe they may have been impacted can contact the Wage and Hour Division and are encouraged to use the Workers Owed Wages search tool to learn if they are owed back wages recovered by the division. Employees with any questions about this case may send them to: whdvm.manchnhalorica@dol.gov

A wholly owned subsidiary of John Hancock Life & Health Insurance Company, Long Term Care Partners was rebranded as FedPoint in 2020. The company administers the federal Long Term Care Insurance Program and BENEFEDS under contract with OPM.

Based in Irvine, California, Alorica has about 100,000 employees in 16 countries who serve business needs of global brands and other organizations for process improvement, customer engagement and market expansion.

For more information about workers’ rights and other employee rights enforced by the division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers and workers can call the division confidentially with questions 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, also available in Spanish.