TAMPA, FL – A Florida labor contractor is headed to prison for nearly 10 years after a U.S. Department of Labor and multi-agency investigation into his part in a conspiracy to subject migrant farmworkers to forced labor, obstruct investigators, intimidate witnesses and house workers in unsafe and unhealthy living conditions.   

On Dec. 29, 2022, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida sentenced Bladimir Moreno – a Bartow 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 the victims. The court also debarred Moreno from participating in the H-2A temporary agricultural workers visa program and assessed penalties totaling $203,350.

The prosecution is part of an investigation begun in 2017 by federal agencies in several states. Workers who escaped their unhealthy living and forced labor conditions first reported the violations to the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a community-based human rights organization in Florida.

The sentencing follows a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation that found Moreno, owner of Los Villatoros Harvesting LLC, violated multiple requirements of the H-2A temporary agricultural workers visa program, and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act and Fair Labor Standards Act.

Los Villatoros Harvesting LLC employed workers to harvest watermelons for Carlton Farms Inc., operating as Sun Fresh Farms Inc. in Wauchula, Florida, for sale to Walmart and Kroger locations. In Indiana, the employer provided crews for Cardinal Farms in Oaktown and Wonning Melons in Vincennes to pack melons for sale through a distributor to chains including Kroger, Schnucks and Sam’s Clubs.

Specifically, the division determined the company and its owner violated federal laws by:

• Failing to provide a fixed work site by pulling workers from their assigned Florida work site to an unapproved Florida farm, and then relocating them to work in Kentucky and Indiana intermittently.
• Not reimbursing workers for visa and application fees, and for inbound transportation expenses to the work site, as the law requires.
• Failing to have accurate records, including earnings, hours statements, and rate and frequency of pay.
• Not cooperating with, and providing false records to, investigators. The employer also intimidated workers who agreed to be interviewed by investigators.
• Failing to meet safety and health requirements for the workers’ housing. Investigators found the employer failed to provide a bed, cot or bunk for each occupant in sleeping rooms. At one location, the contractor housed 44 workers in 10 rooms and provided only 240 square feet for living space and 60 square feet for a bathroom.

“Human trafficking is a scourge caused by unscrupulous employers who profit by exploiting vulnerable workers, many of whom are afraid to complain about the awful situation in which they find themselves,” said Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Juan Coria in Atlanta. “The U.S. Department of Labor and its Wage and Hour Division are engaged in an ongoing fight to identify human trafficking, to end the misery it brings and hold those who callously engage in it accountable.”

The division and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers directed referrals about the case to the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for criminal investigation.

“When we uncover signs of human trafficking – as we did in the Los Villatoros Harvesting case – we work closely with our partner agencies to hold employers to account for their crimes,” added Coria. “The findings in this investigation, and the subsequent debarment and sentencing of Bladimir Moreno show how effective our collaboration can be.”

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.

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CENTRAL ISLIP, NY – The operator of two Long Island restaurants may have thought they only had to take orders from customers, but now has learned that ignoring the orders of federal investigators and a federal court will get you arrested.

On February 1, 2023, the U.S. Marshals Service arrested Louis “Luigi” Prudente, owner of Il Vizio Restorante Italiano Corp., operating as Il Vizio, for repeatedly failing to provide information to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division as part of a compliance investigation that began in May 2021. Acting at the direction of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Central Islip, the U.S. Marshalls Service arrest of Prudente follows legal action prompted by the owner’s refusal to supply documents required for the division’s investigation.

“The arrest of Il Vizio owner, Louis Prudente, shows that the U.S. Department of Labor will use every available instrument to gather the facts, enforce the law and ensure employers do not hold the law in contempt,” said Regional Solicitor Jeffrey S. Rogoff in New York. “An employer’s refusal to comply with federal investigators is illegal and unacceptable and, as this employer now knows, has significant consequences including arrest.”

The department issued an administrative subpoena in July 2021, to determine if the employer’s pay practices complied with the Fair Labor Standards Act, but the employer refused to supply the subpoenaed documents. In response, the department’s Office of the Solicitor pursued the following actions in federal court:

• Obtained a Jan. 10, 2022, court order directing the employer to comply with the July 2021 subpoena.
• Filed a Sept. 8, 2022, motion asking the court to find Prudente in contempt and fine the employer for not complying with the subpoena.
• Obtained an Oct. 27, 2022, court order granting the department’s contempt motion and imposing an escalating series of fines, up to $500 a day.
• Certified the employer’s continued non-compliance on Jan. 5, 2023, and requested the court direct Prudente be taken into the U.S. Marshals’ custody until he produces the subpoenaed documents.

“The Wage and Hour Division must be able to access an employer’s records during an investigation to determine whether or not their businesses’ pay practices and other operations comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act,” said Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Mark Watson Jr. in Philadelphia. “We cannot and will not allow employers to refuse to cooperate with investigators and withhold requested records in an attempt to evade their legal responsibilities without consequences.”

Incorporated in 2010, Il Vizio Restorante Italiano Corp. operates two Italian cuisine restaurants in Massapequa and Massapequa Park.

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 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).

Help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android Timesheet App for free.

RALEIGH, NC – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $287,923 in back wages and liquidated damages for 152 workers after its investigation found that an Asheville gift and novelty wholesaler ran afoul of federal law by denying some workers the full overtime pay they earned.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division determined that AFG Distribution banked overtime hours worked by some employees and offered them back to workers as paid leave on an hour-for-hour basis. By doing so, the employer failed to pay the additional half-time premium for those overtime hours, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

In addition, the employer failed to pay the additional overtime premium on monthly commissions earned by sales personnel and on quarterly bonuses paid to employees when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek.

As a result of its investigation, the Wage and Hour Division recovered $143,961 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages.

“Employers are responsible for paying all employees correctly for all the hours they work. Failure to do so deprives workers of their hard-earned wages,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Richard Blaylock, in Raleigh, North Carolina. “The U.S. Department of Labor provides numerous tools to help employers comply with the law, and we encourage employers and employees alike to contact us for assistance.”

Established in 1999, AFG Distribution operates in Asheville and sells wholesale gifts and novelties.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including its search tool to learn if you are owed back wages collected by the division. 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, 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.

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Employer:                                   Armando’s Mexican Restaurant LLC

Investigation site:                  5792 Memorial Blvd.
                                                         Saint George, South Carolina 29477

Investigation findings: Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that the employer allowed some employees to work off-the-clock without compensation, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Employees performed work when they reported to work before their scheduled shift time or stayed after their shift ended. In addition, Armando’s paid a fixed salary to some employees, failing to pay an overtime premium for all hours over 40 in a workweek. Investigators also determined the employer failed to keep complete and accurate records of the number of hours worked by employees.

Back Wages and Liquidated Damages Recovered: $38,610 for 17 workers and an equal amount in liquidated damages.                                       

Quote: “Restaurant workers are some of the community’s lowest-paid workers. When employers fail to pay these workers all of their legally earned wages, workers and their families find it harder to make ends meet. Illegally withholding wages also give employers an unfair advantage over their law-abiding competitors,” said Wage and Hour District Director Jamie Benefiel in Columbia, South Carolina. “The Wage and Hour Division is able to provide resources to both employers and employees to help understand their responsibilities and rights under 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 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 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.

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Date of Action: Jan. 18, 2023 

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act consent judgement

Defendants: Maya Restaurant Inc. operating as Maya Mexican Restaurant, Rigoberto Cobain 

Background: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division reviewed payroll records from Nov. 11, 2018 through Nov. 7. 2020, and determined workers did not receive overtime compensation at time and one-half their hourly rate of pay for hours over 40 in a workweek and in some cases did not earn the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. The division found 11 cooks, dishwashers, servers and one non-exempt salaried manager were affected by the employers’ failures.

After the owner failed to reach a compliance agreement with the Wage and Hour Division, the department filed suit on Nov. 10, 2021.

Resolution: Judge Sue E. Myerscough issued consent order and judgment to resolve the litigation. The order requires Maya Restaurant and Cobain to do the following: 

• Immediately pay $15,000 in back wages and $15,000 in liquidated damages within 120 days.
• Pay a civil money penalty of $12,500 within 180 days.
• Provide the last-known contact information for employees owned wages.
• Display a poster of the Fair Labor Standards Act requirements in both English and Spanish.
• Display a copy of the consent order and judgment for a period of at least 180 days.
• Comply with the FLSA at all current and future locations operated by company and/or Cobain in Illinois and Missouri.
• Maintain accurate time and payroll records.

Quote: “Wage violations in the restaurant industry are far too common, and often hurt the very vulnerable workers, many of whom do not know their rights under federal wage laws,” said Wage and Hour District Director James Yochim in St. Louis. “Every dollar restored for workers represents justice for those wrongly denied their rightful wages by a business operator who shortchanged them.”

For more information about the FLSA protections for restaurant workers and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the division’s 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. Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for Android devices to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

Court: U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois

Docket Number: Case No. 3:21-cv-03239-SEM-KLM

DENVER – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $203,332 in back wages after an investigation found a Denver landscaping company owned by a father and son – Fermin and Roberto Daniel Guardado – denied overtime wages to 14 workers, and failed to keep complete records as the law requires.

The department also barred the company from hiring H-2B workers for five years for its violations of the H-2B worker program.

Investigations by the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined Grandview Landscaping Inc. underpaid 14 workers, 10 of whom had H-2B worker visas for landscaping. The employer made illegal deductions from the workers’ wages for transportation to and from their native countries and illegally employed some workers in construction to remodel Roberto Daniel Guardado’s home. The division also learned the employer intimidated and coerced employees to give false statements to federal investigators.

In addition to the back wages, the division assessed $111,609 in civil money penalties for the nature of the violations.

“H-2B workers can be especially vulnerable to wage shortages and other violations of their rights,” explained Wage and Hour District Director Chad Frasier in Denver. Employers who use H-2B program workers must comply with its regulations, or face potentially being barred from the program for not following the rules. The H-2B program has certain recruitment and displacement standards to protect similarly employed U.S. workers.”

Based in Denver, Grandview Landscaping Inc. offers tree and lawn care, irrigation, fencing and brick and stone contracting services to residential and commercial customers.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages. Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.

Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for Android devices to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

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LAS VEGAS – After a 2013 investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor that recovered $47,393 from a Nevada paint and specialty coatings contractor and its owner whose illegal pay practices denied 21 Utah workers overtime wages, a reasonable employer might try to avoid repeating a bad and costly decision.

Cory Summerhays, owner of Unforgettable Coatings Inc. – a Las Vegas company operating in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada and Utah – chose instead to double down, and then some. 

In January 2023, the department obtained a consent judgment in federal court in Las Vegas requiring the company and its owner to pay more than $3.6 million in back wages, liquidated damages, interest and penalties to 593 employees in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada and Utah.

The action follows a five-month investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found the employer falsified pay records to deprive workers of earned overtime wages and then intimidated workers who questioned the company’s pay practices. These are all violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

In September 2019, the division expanded its probe to include a second joint investigation between its offices in Las Vegas and Phoenix that covered the company’s operations from September 2016 until December 2020. The investigation included cooperation with the local district council of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades and ARRIBA Las Vegas Workers Center, both of which provided useful information about workers and their employment conditions.

Investigators found Unforgettable Coatings Inc. and Summerhays illegally paid straight time for all hours worked including hours over 40 in a workweek, falsified payroll records by omitting some workers, and required some workers to volunteer their time to work on weekends without pay.

The division also determined Summerhays deliberately hid the company’s theft of overtime by falsifying pay records. The employer hired employees to work between $12 and $25 an hour, but – among other things –

created pay stubs showing a lower hourly rate to avoid paying the workers overtime based on their agreed-upon rate. Through the employer’s complex scheme, employees were ultimately paid straight time for all hours worked.  

Investigators also learned Summerhays threatened workers and stated that talking to the department could involve immigration consequences. He reduced all workers’ wages by 30 percent and cut employees’ hours if he believed they cooperated with the investigation. In April 2020 – in the course of the litigation – the department’s Office of the Solicitor obtained a federal court order forbidding Summerhays and Unforgettable Coatings from retaliating, intimidating or discriminating against current or former employees who cooperated with investigators. Despite that order, department investigators later discovered that Unforgettable Coatings continued to retaliate against workers and fired an employee for complaining about the company’s pay practices. As a result, the Solicitor’s Office sought to hold Unforgettable Coatings and Summerhays in contempt, but Unforgettable Coatings and Summerhays settled before the court ruled on the matter.

“The wage theft committed by Cory Summerhays and Unforgettable Coatings Inc. was egregious and willful. The employer denied nearly 600 workers in four states their hard-earned overtime pay, attempted to hide their greed and illegal actions, and retaliated against workers who asked why they were being cheated,” said Principal Deputy Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “To their credit, several brave employees came forward to exercise their rights. We hope the outcome of this case gives other workers the confidence to come forward and report wage theft to the Wage and Hour Division.”

The division’s investigations determined Unforgettable Coatings Inc. and Summerhays owed the affected workers in four states a total of $1,809,249 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. The department also assessed the employer $50,000 in civil money penalties due to the willful nature of its violations, and an additional $18,092 in interest.

“After stealing their employees’ wages, Cory Summerhays and Unforgettable Coatings repeatedly tried to silence their workers and undermine the department’s efforts to vindicate these workers’ rights,” said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. “The Solicitor’s Office is committed to taking every legal step necessary to empower workers to come forward. We will swiftly obtain court orders against vindictive employers, oppose intimidating inquiries into workers’ irrelevant immigration status, and defend workers’ ability to speak directly to the department and through their trusted community partners.”  

Litigation by the department revealed Summerhays had established another company – Final Touch Painting in Idaho – where the employer also falsified payroll records by representing hourly wages as bonus pay. Back wages and liquidated damages calculated in this case were included in the consent judgment.

Founded in 2007, Unforgettable Coatings Inc. is a commercial and residential roof coating and painting contractor based in Las Vegas with locations in several states including Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Idaho. In June 2020, Inc. Magazine included the company on its annual list of “Best Workplaces.”

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 Timesheet App for Android and iOS – now available in Spanish – for free.

AURORA, IL – While workers at a local supermarket stocked shelves, operated cash registers and served customers Mexican hot foods and baked goods, their Aurora employer was denying them their hard-earned overtime pay for two years, the U.S. Department of Labor recently found.

After its investigation, the department’s Wage and Hour Division has recovered a total of $399,851 in back wages and liquidated damages for 49 workers at Supermercado Carrera, a family-owned supermarket.

Division investigators determined the supermarket’s operator paid several employees straight-time wages for overtime and shortchanged them of the legally required time and one-half premium for hours over 40 in a workweek. The employer also incorrectly classified some employees as exempt from overtime. These actions violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

In addition to $199,925 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages, Supermercado Carrera also paid $734 in civil money penalties the division assessed after investigators found that a minor-aged employee worked beyond permitted hours. ​

“The nearly $400,000 in back wages and damages our investigation recovered will make a significant difference in the lives of 49 workers and their families,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Tom Gauza in Chicago. “Typically, small grocers employ low-wage and vulnerable workers likely unaware of their basic rights to the federal minimum wage and overtime pay. Workers in the U.S. have the right to be paid their full earned wages.”

In fiscal year 2022, the Wage and Hour Division’s office in Chicago recovered $6.4 million, in back wages and $647,000 in liquidated damages for more than 6,400 workers. Most commonly, the division found violations of overtime and minimum wage. In the first four months of fiscal year 2023, the office has recovered $1.6 million in back wages and $814,000 in liquidated damages for 1,182 workers.

“We continue to work with local worker’s advocacy groups, consulates and other community resources to educate workers about their rights. Failing to pay accurate wages is an issue across a myriad of industries,” Gauza added. “Employers or workers with questions should reach out to Wage and Hour for information.”

Learn about FLSA rules for the retail Industry.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the division’s 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. Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for android devices to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

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Employer:                  Senior Healthcare Advisors LLC

Investigation site:      816 S Military Trail

                                    Deerfield Beach, FL 33442

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found the healthcare benefits services company misclassified its employees as independent contractors and paid them straight-time rates for all hours worked, including hours over 40 in a workweek. By doing so, the employer did not pay the additional half-time rate for overtime as the Fair Labor Standards Act requires. In addition, Senior Healthcare Advisors failed to include earned commissions into some employees’ regular pay rates, and paid overtime at lower rates than the FLSA requires as a result.

The employer also failed to provide a general notice to its employees informing them of their Family and Medical Leave Act rights.

Back Wages and Liquidated Damages Recovered: $106,248 for 68 workers                                    

Quote: “Misclassifying workers as independent contractors denies them wage protections and other important benefits, making makes it harder for them to provide for themselves and their families,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Daniel Cronin in Miami. “We encourage employers to contact the Wage and Hour Division to ensure their pay practices comply with the law, and invite employees to contact us with any questions or concerns.”

Background: Senior Healthcare Advisors LLC operates Medicare benefits call centers out of Deerfield Beach and Pembroke Pines and sells Medicare policies on behalf of national insurance carriers.

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 Fair Labor Standards Act wage laws overtime requirements and resources on misclassification of employees as independent contractors. 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.

Employer:                              Heine Brothers Inc.

Investigation site:                  1301 W. Main St.

                                                Louisville, KY 40203

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found the operator of a Louisville coffee shop redistributed tips improperly and diverted workers’ tips to managers. Heine Brothers also failed to keep a record for tips, specifically pennies which it mandated be donated to a charity, violations of minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Back Wages and Liquidated Damages Assessed: The agency recovered $150,000 in back wages for 492 workers and an equal amount in liquidated damages.                                      

Quote: “The Wage and Hour Division is committed to protecting the rights of workers and ensuring that they receive all the hard-earned wages they rely on to make ends meet,” said Wage and Hour Division District Office Director Karen Garnett-Civils in Louisville, Kentucky. “In this case, our collaboration with the National Conference of Fireman and Oilers provided important help in our efforts to protect the rights of nearly 500 workers whose employer denied them their full wages.”

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 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.