GARDEN GROVE, CA – A federal court has approved a consent judgment ordering a Southern California adult care provider with a history of labor violations to pay $690,696 to 108 employees after the U.S. Department of Labor recently found the Garden Grove-based employer denied workers all their earned wages.

The Dec. 14, 2022, action by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California follows the discovery by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that Neldy’s R.C. Inc., operating as Neldy’s Adult Residential Care Home, purposely did not combine all hours worked and paid the affected employees with multiple paychecks to hide their illegal practices. Division investigators also found Neldy’s deducted meal breaks from workers’ wages when their duties required them to work during their breaks, and failed to keep time and payroll records as required.

Specifically, the court ordered Neldy’s R.C. Inc. to pay $345,348 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to the affected workers, and $25,000 in civil money penalties for its willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The order also permanently prohibits the care provider from committing future FLSA violations at its 12 locations in Orange and Riverside counties.

“The court’s action and our investigation send a clear message to unscrupulous care industry employers that we will hold them accountable for their attempts to exploit their workers and deprive them of their hard-earned wages,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Min Park-Chung in San Diego. “The fact that the operator of Neldy’s Adult Residential Care Home continues to abuse their workers’ rights so blatantly despite their prior violations is truly appalling.”

Prior investigations into the company’s pay practices from 2013 through 2016 led to the department’s recovery of $1,069,730 for 58 workers, following the discovery that Neldy’s R.C. Inc. violated minimum wage and overtime provisions in the FLSA.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division San Diego District Office conducted the investigation, and attorneys with the department’s Office of the Solicitor negotiated a resolution of the investigation and the terms of the consent judgment.

“The U.S. Department of Labor has shown again that we will follow all legal avenues to protect the rights of workers when we find shameless employers abusing them,” said Regional Solicitor Marc Pilotin in San Francisco. “Enforcing the law and stopping wage theft is a priority for us.”

In fiscal year 2021, the division recovered $13.8 million in back wages for more than 17,000 workers in the U.S. healthcare industry, one in which low wages and high rates of violations are common. As the U.S. population ages and demand for home healthcare services increases, employment in a variety of healthcare sectors is projected to grow 16 percent from 2020 to 2030 – faster than the average for all occupations – adding about 2.6 million new jobs. 

The division enforces the law regardless of where a worker is from 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. Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for i-OS and Android devices to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

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ORLANDO, FL – The U.S. Department of Labor recovered $14,813 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages after finding a Jacksonville Subway franchisee directed employees to handle work-related tasks off-the-clock at six restaurants.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division investigators found that owners Penny Carter and Matthew Carter failed to compensate workers for all hours worked at six locations when they required managers to make bank deposits and conduct store-to-store runs between the greater Jacksonville area locations. At one of their locations, investigators determined, the restaurants’ operators shaved hours worked from employees’ timecards. All of these actions violate the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The employer also failed to keep accurate records reflecting employees’ proper rates of pay, gross pay and hours worked.

“The U.S. Department of Labor continues to work diligently to ensure employers understand their obligations to accurately track all hours worked in order to pay their employees all the wages they legally earned,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Wildalí De Jesús in Orlando, Florida. “We encourage all employers to make use of the wide variety of information and tools we offer to help them understand which activities must be compensated, how to operate in compliance, and to avoid violations like those found in this investigation.”

Agency investigators found violations at the following six locations operating as Subway restaurants:

***Back wages and liquated damages. 

Subway Management Group of Jacksonville Inc. is a chain of Subway franchised fast-food restaurants operating in the greater Jacksonville area with about 54 employees.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a compliance assistance toolkit for restaurants, and a 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 and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact 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 and iOS Timesheet App for free.

CHESAPEAKE, VA – A Chesapeake home healthcare company and its owners must pay more than $1.5 million – $759,698 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages – to 194 employees after the U.S. Department of Labor obtained a summary judgment in federal court.

Entered in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Norfolk, the judgment follows a complaint filed in September 2020 and litigation by the department’s Office of the Solicitor. The court required that Kynd Hearts Home Health Care LLC and its co-owners, Shawndell D. Harris and Alvonda Evans to pay the back wages and liquidated damages for willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The judgment upholds the results of an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that specifically found Kynd Hearts Home Health Care LLC:

• Failed to pay certain non-exempt employees the proper overtime premium and instead paid straight time for hours over 40 in some workweeks.
• Developed a pay scheme to reduce employees’ hourly rates the more hours employees worked and then paid an overtime rate based on the reduced hourly rate, not the regular hourly rate.
• Failed to show total premium pay for all overtime hours worked in a workweek in its payroll records.

In a prior investigation in 2014, the department’s Wage and Hour Division found the employer’s pay practices violated the FLSA.

“The Wage and Hour Division investigated Kynd Hearts Home Health Care and its co-owners in 2014 and found overtime violations. The employers knew their obligations to pay proper overtime rates and yet, they willfully disregarded the law and denied workers all of their hard-earned wages,” said Principal Deputy Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “That is wage theft, and it will not be tolerated.”

Given the intentional nature of the violations, the department assessed a civil money penalty of $226,512.

In addition to the back wages and damages payment, the judgment permanently forbids the employers from future FLSA violations.

“The U.S. Department of Labor will hold employers who repeatedly and willfully fail to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act legally accountable,” said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. “Other home healthcare industry employers should take note and ensure that they are paying their employees in compliance with the law.”

The division’s Richmond District Office conducted the investigation. The department’s Office of the Solicitor in Arlington, Virginia, litigated the case and secured the judgment.

In fiscal year 2022, the division recovered $14.9 million in back wages for more than 22,000 workers in the healthcare industry, where low wages and high rates of violations are common. As the U.S. population ages and demand for home 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.  

“Hardworking healthcare workers will choose to work for employers who value them, pay them full wages and respect their rights,” Looman added. “Employers who comply with labor law and appreciate the dignity of work will have a clear advantage when it comes to recruiting and retaining workers.”

For more information about the FLSA and other laws the division enforces, contact its toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division.

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

WILLOW GROVE, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment ordering a Willow Grove home care agency that intentionally denied 433 employees full overtime wages to pay them more than $3.8 million in back wages and liquidated damages.

Obtained in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania after litigation by the department’s Office of the Solicitor in Philadelphia, the judgment requires TriMED HealthCare LLC and its owner, Beverly Jordan, to pay $1,930,761 in back wages, an equal amount in liquidated damages and a civil money penalty of $180,141 for the willful nature of its violations. The department originally filed its complaint on Sept. 2, 2020.

“This is a significant recovery of back wages and liquidated damages for people who typically work for low wages and often struggle to make ends meet,” said Principal Deputy Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “Employers must understand that federal law requires them to respect workers’ rights to be paid all of their earned wages, and that we will investigate those who fail to meet their obligations.”

The litigation and judgment was prompted by an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found TriMED HealthCare and Jordan paid direct care employees a regular rate ranging from $7.25 to $14 per hour. To avoid the expense of paying employees proper overtime, the employers lowered their regular rates when employees worked over 40 hours in a workweek, and paid overtime compensation based on those rates. By lowering the rates, the employer concealed the fact that they paid all hours as straight time in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The division also determined the employers paid some administrative employees straight time when overtime pay was required, failed to pay direct care workers for travel time between client homes and did not keep records as required.

“Employers who intentionally disregard the law and fail to pay workers their hard-earned wages will find that we will use every tool available, including enforcement actions in federal court, to hold them accountable,” said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda.

The division’s Philadelphia District Office conducted the investigation. Senior Trial Attorney Brian Krier with the department’s Office of the Solicitor in Philadelphia filed the complaint and secured the judgment days before an imminent jury trial.

In fiscal year 2022, the division recovered $14.9 million in back wages for more than 22,000 workers in the healthcare industry, where low wages and high rates of violations are common. As the U.S. population ages and demand for home 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.  

“Today’s workers can choose to work for employers who value them, pay them full wages and respect their rights as workers,” Looman added. “Employers who comply with labor law and appreciate the dignity of work will have a clear advantage when it comes to retaining and recruiting workers.”

TriMED HealthCare LLC provides home care services for those with disabilities or those requiring a companion and serves Bucks, Montgomery, Northampton, Delaware, Chester, Lehigh, Philadelphia and other surrounding counties in Pennsylvania.

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 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 Timesheet App for free.

Employer:  SC1 Summit LLC – operating as Summit Adventure Park Charleston

Investigation site: 1964 Ashley River Road, Charleston, SC 29407

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found the employer – a children’s trampoline park – allowed 30 minor-aged employees to work outside of federally permitted work hours. Summit Adventure Park Charleston allowed 14- and 15-year-old workers to work more than 18 hours in a school week and after 7 p.m. while school was in session, both violations of the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Civil Money Penalties Assessed: The agency assessed a $11,010 civil penalty to address the child labor violations.                                               

Quote: “Employers must familiarize themselves with the requirements that come with hiring minor employees. These laws exist to protect young workers and ensure their educational opportunities are not interfered with,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jamie Benefiel in Columbia, South Carolina. “We encourage employers to access our Youthrules.gov website or contact the Wage and Hour Division to learn how to navigate working hours for minor-aged employees and uphold their obligations under the law when they choose to hire them.”

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 information about protections for young workers on the department’s YouthRules! website. 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.

Employer:  Kandible Inc., operating as Indian Monsoon

Investigation site: 105 W. Morgan St., Durham, NC 27701

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found Indian Monsoon illegally kept tips left by customers for employees’ services. The employer also paid a flat salary to three non-exempt kitchen employees. By doing so, Indian Monsoon failed to pay the additional overtime premium pay for hours over 40 hours in a workweek. Both pay practices violate the Fair Labor Standards Act. Investigators also determined the employer failed to keep accurate records of the number of hours worked by the non-exempt employees.

Back Wages Recovered: $55,435 in back wages for seven workers.                                               

Quote: “Customers’ tips to restaurant staff belong to those who earned them, such as servers, bartenders and other frontline workers. Any attempt by an employer to keep these tips violates federal labor law,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Richard Blaylock in Raleigh, North Carolina. “The U.S. Department of Labor is determined to protect workers’ rights to be paid all their earnings, including tips, and overtime as required. We encourage both employees and employers to contact us with their questions.”

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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LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $1,651,550 in back wages and liquidated damages from the owner of seven Los Angeles restaurants who denied 83 workers overtime wages and kept false pay records in an attempt to hide the wage theft.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found Prapai Boonyindee – owner of six establishments operating as Ocha Classic restaurant and one operating as Vim restaurant – intentionally did not pay the affected workers overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek, and created false records showing they worked no overtime hours. Both actions violate the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“Wage theft is used by unscrupulous restaurant industry employers to increase their bottom lines at the expense of some of our nation’s lowest paid workers,” explained Jessica Looman, Principal Deputy Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division. “We work tirelessly to recover hard-earned wages owed to workers like these, and employers who disregard workers’ rights accountable for their illegal pay practices and their attempt to mislead our investigators.”

In addition to recovering $825,775 in overtime back wages and an equal amount in damages, the division assessed $62,167 in civil money penalties for the willful nature of Boonyindee’s violations.

The investigation covered the followed locations and affected workers:

In fiscal year 2021, the Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $34.7 million for more than 29,000 workers in the food service industry. In 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports near record numbers of job openings and workers in the accommodations and food services industry quitting their jobs. 

The Wage and Hour Division encourages workers with questions about their employers’ pay practices to contact them. Calls can be answered confidentially and in more than 200 languages by the division’s professionals.

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 for Android and iOS devices to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

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Employer:    Jamison’s Ice Cream LLC, operating as Sawyer’s Ice Cream

Site:               1933 Lakeshore Road

Gilford, New Hampshire 03249

Findings:      Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found the Lakes Region ice cream and fried foods retailer failed to pay full overtime wages to 25 workers and failed to pay two employees for travel time who were tasked with transporting seasonal workers to and from work, leading to significant Fair Labor Standards Act violations. The division also determined that Sawyer’s Ice Cream violated federal child labor provisions by allowing five 14-year-old employees to work more hours than the law permits, and by permitting one 14-year-old to operate a meat slicer, considered a hazardous occupation for minors under federal law.

Back wages: The division’s investigation recovered $38,176 – $19,088 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages – for 26 workers for the wage violations. The department also levied a $6,160 civil money penalty for the child labor violations.

Quote:           “Overtime and child labor violations are too commonly found in food service industry investigations. Employers must understand there can be differences between wage and hour regulations under state and federal law,” said Wage and Hour District Director Steven McKinney in Manchester, New Hampshire. “We encourage employers, particularly those with seasonal businesses, to avoid potentially costly consequences by reviewing their pay practices and how they employ minor-aged workers to ensure they comply with federal law.

“We also urge workers and employers alike to contact our office with any questions they may have regarding their respective rights and responsibilities,” McKinney added.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division.

DALLAS – A federal investigation into child labor violations by franchisees of a Lindon, Utah-based franchise network of a fast-growing national chain of cookie bakeries found 11 operators in six states allowed young employees – many 14 and 15 years of age – to work more than the law permits or in hazardous or prohibited occupations. 

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found violations affecting 46 workers at Crumbl Cookies’ locations in California, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Utah and Washington. Violations ranged from employing some minor-aged employees to work longer and later than the time the law allows to assigning others to operate potentially dangerous ovens and machinery.

The division assessed $57,854 in penalties to resolve the child labor violations.

“Employers must ensure that part-time employment does not jeopardize the safety or education of young workers,” explained Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Betty Campbell in Dallas. “It is the responsibility of every employer who hires minor workers to understand child labor laws, and comply with them or potentially face costly consequences.”

The division completed child labor investigations at Crumbl locations as follows:

Whether school is in session or not, 14- and 15-year-old workers cannot work more than 8 hours per day or exceed 40 hours per workweek. In addition, employers must not allow these workers to work before 7:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m. on any day, except from June 1 through Labor Day, when nighttime work hours are extended to 9:00 p.m. All workers under the age of 18 are banned from occupations considered hazardous by federal law.

Founded in 2017, Crumbl Cookies is based in Lindon, Utah, and operates a network of franchised bakeries and dessert shops with more than 600 locations in 47 states.

In 2022, the Wage and Hour Division found more than 3,800 minors employed in violation of child labor laws, an increase of 37 percent over the previous year. Minors employed in violation of hazardous orders were up 26 percent in the same period, with a total of 688 minors found to be working in hazardous occupations.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division.

Employer:                                          B&R Tires Inc.

Investigation sites:                       15115 Whittram Ave.

                                                                  Fontana, CA 92335

Investigation findings:                      U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found B&R Tires Inc – a vehicle maintenance business that provides repair services and tire replacements – failed to pay employees for all hours worked, including time they spent putting on and removing work clothes, gear or equipment. The employer also failed to pay required overtime rates for hours over 40 in a workweek. The employer also failed to keep records of hours worked. These actions violated overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Back Wages Recovered:                   $72,167 in back wages for 11 employees

                                                                      $72,167 in damages for 11 employees

Penalties paid:                                       $6,787 in civil money penalties

Quote: “The U.S. Department of Labor is determined to make sure employers pay their workers their rightfully earned wages under the law,” said Wage and Hour Division Assistant District Director Rafael Valles in West Covina, California. “The department’s Wage and Hour Division is ready to help workers know their rights, no matter where they come from, and also assist employers understand their responsibilities.”

Background:  Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, and its search tool if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Download the agency’s new Timesheet App, now available for Android and iOS devices, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

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